skull

American  

[skuhl] / skʌl /

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.

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idioms

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

skull British  

/ 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

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skull Scientific  

/ skŭl /

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

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Other Word Forms

• skull-less adjective
• skull-like adjective

Etymology

Origin of skull

1175–1225; Middle English scolle < Old Norse skalli

Example Sentences

Despite having built an obelisk of skulls, Dr. Kelson is one of the few remaining uninfected who has lost neither his reason nor his soul.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the third episode, a challenge requires half of those remaining to be caged while a partner stacks animal skulls into a tower to free them.

From Salon

Doctors found pieces of plastic and glass in his skull as well as metal in his stomach lining, and “pulled a piece of plastic the size of a nickel from my eye,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Their findings pinpoint a deep prehistoric moment when dogs started to differ noticeably in both size and skull shape.

From Science Daily

Early research focused largely on the fossil's skull, which provided limited insight into how the species moved.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• cranium
• scalp