cranium
noun
cra·ni·um
ˈkrā-nē-əm 
plural craniums or crania
ˈkrā-nē-ə
: 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 cranium … —
James Shreeve
James Shreeve "Hey, big head!" Mahorn shouted. Aguirre does, in fact, have an extraordinary cranium. —Jeff Coplon
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
Jeff Gordinier Examples of cranium in a Sentence
the cranium of a Neanderthal is striking for its brow ridges
Recent Examples on the Web
There were also three unique variants of amino acids present on the cranium — amino acids that were also found on Denisova 3, a finger bone recovered from Denisova Cave in 2008.
—Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 19 June 2025
The man never retrieved his treasure, and the cranium, with one tooth still attached in the upper jaw, remained unknown to science for decades until his relatives learned about it before his death.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 18 June 2025
Others, like a relatively flat face, set beneath the cranium instead of sticking out in front of it, look more like us.
—ArsTechnica, 18 June 2025
Experts found the cranium and the skull fragment were likely archaeological finds, some being more than 100 years old and others being more than 500 years old, FOX 35 reported.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cranium
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 19 June 2025
The man never retrieved his treasure, and the cranium, with one tooth still attached in the upper jaw, remained unknown to science for decades until his relatives learned about it before his death.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 18 June 2025
Others, like a relatively flat face, set beneath the cranium instead of sticking out in front of it, look more like us.
—ArsTechnica, 18 June 2025
Experts found the cranium and the skull fragment were likely archaeological finds, some being more than 100 years old and others being more than 500 years old, FOX 35 reported.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cranium
Cite this Entry
“Cranium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cranium. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cranium
noun
cra·ni·um
ˈkrā-nē-əm
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
plural craniums or crania
-nē-ə
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share