plural skulls
1
: the skeleton of the head of a vertebrate forming a bony or cartilaginous case that encloses and protects the brain and chief sense organs and supports the jaws
2
: the seat of understanding or intelligence : mind see also out of one's skull
skulled
adjective
… the craniate (skulled) vertebrates …
—
Eugene Solomon Talbot
Eugene Solomon Talbot
-
— usually used in combinationlarge-skulled
skulled; skulling; skulls
1
: to hit on the head
2
: to unintentionally hit (a golf ball or shot) with the bottom edge of the clubface
Synonyms
Examples of skull in a Sentence
Noun
He had a fractured skull.
paleoanthropologists recently found the skull of a prehistoric man in a remote area of the desert
Recent Examples on the WebRyan Chelius, Field & Stream, 11 Apr. 2024
Since then, the Astronomia collection has retained its roots through numerous iterations with themes including skulls, casino games, The Godfather, and many others.
—Cait Bazemore, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2024
As a newborn at the hospital, DCFS whisked him away from his parents because the agency accused Juarez, his mother, of abusing an infant half-sister and causing skull fractures.
—Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
The surgery consisted of her surgeon reopening her original scar to clean it in order to prevent any infections and to replace the bone that was initially cut out of her skull.
—Sara Vallone, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2024
However, an autopsy showed the infant had several fractures on the front and side of skull with no visible bruising where the fractures occurred, reports show.
—Forum News Service, Twin Cities, 24 Mar. 2024
In early 2023, Calvin So, lead author of the new paper and a doctoral student at George Washington University, began to study the skull for a doctoral paper.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
Much like the Alexander McQueen skull scarf and Sienna Miller’s boho disc belts, the skinny jean has, over recent years, been used as a pawn in the ongoing culture wars between Gen-Z and Millennials.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2024
By directly integrating itself beneath the skull, the chip can collect data on thousands of neural connections.
—Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 29 Mar. 2024
oregonlive, 22 Oct. 2020
And, most incredibly, not after skulling a bunker shot on the par-5 14th, then hacking out to 30 feet.
—Daniel Rapaport, SI.com, 13 June 2019
The ball was sitting on such tight grass that he easily could have chunked or skulled it.
—Daniel Rapaport, SI.com, 17 June 2019
This leaves one big question: Why were people drilling into one another’s skulls 5,000 years ago in the first place?
—Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 25 Apr. 2018
Someone took out a golf driver and skulled the top off of a full can of Bud Light and drank what was left.
—Byron McCauley, Cincinnati.com, 26 Feb. 2018
Noun
Known for its longer, flatter, skull and large molars, the Louisiana subspecies is genetically distinct from other black bear populations in North America.
—Ryan Chelius, Field & Stream, 11 Apr. 2024
Since then, the Astronomia collection has retained its roots through numerous iterations with themes including skulls, casino games, The Godfather, and many others.
—Cait Bazemore, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2024
As a newborn at the hospital, DCFS whisked him away from his parents because the agency accused Juarez, his mother, of abusing an infant half-sister and causing skull fractures.
—Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
The surgery consisted of her surgeon reopening her original scar to clean it in order to prevent any infections and to replace the bone that was initially cut out of her skull.
—Sara Vallone, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2024
However, an autopsy showed the infant had several fractures on the front and side of skull with no visible bruising where the fractures occurred, reports show.
—Forum News Service, Twin Cities, 24 Mar. 2024
In early 2023, Calvin So, lead author of the new paper and a doctoral student at George Washington University, began to study the skull for a doctoral paper.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
Much like the Alexander McQueen skull scarf and Sienna Miller’s boho disc belts, the skinny jean has, over recent years, been used as a pawn in the ongoing culture wars between Gen-Z and Millennials.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2024
By directly integrating itself beneath the skull, the chip can collect data on thousands of neural connections.
—Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 29 Mar. 2024
Verb
Another decade passed and, in 2019, the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office received a grant to begin DNA analysis on more than 100 sets of unidentified remains, the Mount Hood skull among them.
—oregonlive, 22 Oct. 2020
And, most incredibly, not after skulling a bunker shot on the par-5 14th, then hacking out to 30 feet.
—Daniel Rapaport, SI.com, 13 June 2019
The ball was sitting on such tight grass that he easily could have chunked or skulled it.
—Daniel Rapaport, SI.com, 17 June 2019
This leaves one big question: Why were people drilling into one another’s skulls 5,000 years ago in the first place?
—Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 25 Apr. 2018
Someone took out a golf driver and skulled the top off of a full can of Bud Light and drank what was left.
—Byron McCauley, Cincinnati.com, 26 Feb. 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'skull.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing skull
Dictionary Entries Near skull
Cite this Entry
“Skull.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skull. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
skull
nounˈskəl
1
: the case of bone or cartilage that forms the skeleton of the head and face, encloses the brain, and supports the jaws of vertebrates
2
: the location of understanding or intelligence : mind
skulled
adjective
ˈskəld
Medical Definition
skull
noun
: the skeleton of the head forming a bony case that encloses and protects the brain and chief sense organs and supports the jaws
More from Merriam-Webster on skull
Nglish: Translation of skull for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of skull for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about skull
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