: including only what is most basic or necessary
a bare-bones email program
Skyscrapers of steel hung with curtain walls of glass, these sleek buildings were impressive monuments to bare-bones architectural integrity.—
C. A. Mills
C. A. Mills
: the barest essentials, facts, or elements
the bare bones of her life
Examples of bare-bones in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Nathan Diller, USA Today, 16 May 2025
On the surface, the AirPods Max appear to be the most bare-bones.
—PC Magazine, 15 May 2025
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024
Where other popular songs felt oversized and celebratory, Legend’s tune was bare bones, just raw vocals and real talk about the perils of romantic love.
—Marcus J. Moore, Time, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bare-bones
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Adjective
Delta Main Basic is the new Basic Economy, a bare-bones fare that comes with restrictions.
—Nathan Diller, USA Today, 16 May 2025
On the surface, the AirPods Max appear to be the most bare-bones.
—PC Magazine, 15 May 2025
Plural noun
One method suggests stripping out portions of the AI's internal structure and leaving just bare bones.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024
Where other popular songs felt oversized and celebratory, Legend’s tune was bare bones, just raw vocals and real talk about the perils of romantic love.
—Marcus J. Moore, Time, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bare-bones
Cite this Entry
“Bare-bones.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bare-bones. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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