sugar skull

American

[shoog-er skuhl] / ˈʃʊg ər ˌskʌl /

noun

a decorated model skull seen during Day of the Dead celebrations, usually molded or sculpted from sugar or clay and often placed on an altar with a deceased person's name on it.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

sugar skulls

plural

Etymology

Origin of sugar skull

First recorded in 1930–35; loan translation of Spanish calavera de azúcar

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

sugar skull

SAT-SUN Honor the departed in a celebration with community altars, sugar skull making, processions and festive music, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2019

I run inside just to grab the sugar skull I made last night.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

My shoes are almost soaked through with leftover rain droplets by the time Gram and Grandpa’s grave comes into sight, still clutching my sugar skull to lay against their stone.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023