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

Costumes are dark and minimal (at the end, Erika wears the same black-cocktail-dress-and-pearls ensemble that Vanessa wore at the opening); the staging is bare-bones—just a couple of chairs, stark lighting, no projections, and a few minutes of dry ice during the snow scene. —Russell Platt, New Yorker, 20 May 2026

Today, big airlines can sell a handful of bare-bones seats at Spirit-level prices while still charging more for standard and premium tickets elsewhere on their planes. —Rio Yamat, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026

Plural noun

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

Promotional materials for Neighbors First are mostly bare bones. —David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 9 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