skull

[skuhl]

noun

1. the bony framework of the head, enclosing the brain and supporting the face; the skeleton of the head.

2. the head as the center of knowledge and understanding; mind.

   to get literature's great ideas through our skulls.

3. Armor.,  the part of a helmet that covers the top of the head.

skull

/ skʌl /

noun

1. the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates See cranium

2. derogatory,  the head regarded as the mind or intelligence

   to have a dense skull

3. a picture of a skull used to represent death or danger

skull

1. The part of the skeleton that forms the framework of the head, consisting of the bones of the cranium, which protect the brain, and the bones of the face.

2. See more at skeleton

Other Word Forms

• skull-less adjective
• skull-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of skull¹

1175–1225; Middle English scolle < Old Norse skalli

Word History and Origins

Origin of skull¹

C13: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse skoltr, Norwegian skult, Swedish dialect skulle

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. out of one's skull, crazy; demented.

Example Sentences

It wasn’t the mayhem of mass casualty events that shook her, nor the sound of shallow breaths as a patient who had been shot in the skull slipped toward death.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"But it did creep into a job styling some cereal boxes. There was a Rice Krispy that looked like a skull. I thought: 'Come on, stop seeing skulls everywhere'."

Read more on BBC

Scientists say that marks on its skull suggest that the "sword dragon" may have been killed by a bite to the head, possibly inflicted by a much larger species of ichthyosaur.

Read more on BBC

For some, the goal was to disclose a hierarchy of races inscribed in shapes of skulls.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

They took him to al-Shifa hospital, where Hadeel says she was told her husband had a skull fracture and was in a coma.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• cranium 
• scalp