cranium

noun

cra·​ni·​um ˈkrā-nē-əm How to pronounce cranium (audio)
plural craniums or crania ˈkrā-nē-ə How to pronounce cranium (audio)
: skull
specifically : the part of the skull that encloses the brain : braincase
Among the physical characters that distinguish them from other early humans are the long, low sweep of the Neanderthal craniumJames Shreeve
"Hey, big head!" Mahorn shouted. Aguirre does, in fact, have an extraordinary cranium. Jeff Coplon
You don't "watch" a film like Fight Club; you mainline a deluge of visual and sonic information (including a hefty chunk of the IKEA catalog) straight into your cranium. Jeff Gordinier

Examples of cranium in a Sentence

the cranium of a Neanderthal is striking for its brow ridges
Recent Examples on the Web The cranium of an individual with mosaic Turner syndrome from an Iron Age site in Somerset, UK. Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 15 Jan. 2024 At the time, Boas said this showed that environmental factors resulted in a huge degree of difference and that inherited traits and genetics weren’t the only things that influence measurements like cranium size. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024 Lady Gaga gets cracked in the cranium by a big pole: During Lady Gaga’s 2012 Born This Way Ball in Auckland, New Zealand, the singer was accidentally struck atop the head by a large pole, forcing her to momentarily evacuate the stage. Spin Contributor, SPIN, 8 Dec. 2023 The procedure will involve removing a coin-sized piece of the subject’s cranium and allowing a proprietary robot to weave superthin wires into their brain. Dhruv Mehrotra, WIRED, 22 Nov. 2023 Flat Bones Flat bones are broadened and flattened structures, as in the cranium, the sternum (breast bone), and the scapulae (shoulder blades). Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023 The skeleton contains almost all of its bones and carries a completely intact cranium from 13,000 to 12,000 years ago. Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023 That's when LaBar's brain and all the thoughts in it try to part ways from the surrounding cranium, the one continuing southbound on I-81, the other rocketing forward with the impact from the truck. Oliver Broudy, Men's Health, 17 Aug. 2023 Although the cranium closely resembles some other east Asian finds such as the Dali cranium, the team named a new species based on the unique suite of features. Briana Pobiner and Ryan McRae, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Dec. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cranium.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin, from Greek kranion; akin to Greek kara head — more at cerebral

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cranium was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near cranium

Cite this Entry

“Cranium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cranium. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cranium

noun
cra·​ni·​um ˈkrā-nē-əm How to pronounce cranium (audio)
plural craniums or crania
-nē-ə
: skull sense 1
especially : the part that encloses the brain

Medical Definition

cranium

noun
cra·​ni·​um ˈkrā-nē-əm How to pronounce cranium (audio)
plural craniums or crania -nē-ə How to pronounce cranium (audio)
: skull
specifically : braincase

More from Merriam-Webster on cranium

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