bare-bones

1 of 2

adjective

ˈber-ˈbōnz 

: 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

bare bones

2 of 2

plural noun

: the barest essentials, facts, or elements

the bare bones of her life

Examples of bare-bones in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The bare-bones account of unfolding horror. —Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 June 2026

Some viewers and beginner-painters valued his bare-bones instructions on how to create unchallenging landscape portraits, while still some others undoubtedly enjoyed Ross and his painting lessons for their snark value. —Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 4 June 2026

Plural noun

Boyle puts extra meat on Patrick’s bare bones with a soulful performance that meshes precisely with Petticrew’s turn as the slight-in-stature but formidably strong-willed Shiv. —Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026

The play begins with a forbidding thumping on a glass window outside a bare bones upstairs apartment where B lives a subsistence-level life with his mother. —Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 13 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1868, in the meaning defined above

Plural Noun

1647, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bare-bones

• anticyclones
• allophones
• chaperones
• cobblestones
• cornerstones
• francophones
• gramophones
• hydrophones
• microphones
• overtones
• pheromones
• quinolones