skin and bones

idiom

variants or skin and bone

informal

: very thin in a way that is unattractive and unhealthy

After the illness, he was skin and bones.

The starving dog was nothing but skin and bones.

Examples of skin and bones in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Not to mention that when the friends first happen upon the Sawyer family's house of horrors, Pam's discovery of mutilated human remains and furniture made out of skin and bones is reminiscent of the shocking scene unearthed at Gein's home when police searched it. —Megan McCluskey, Time, 3 Oct. 2025

Collagen keeps skin and bones firm yet elastic.8 Vitamin C can also help prevent pigmentation (dark spots) caused by ultraviolet light.9 4. —Merve Ceylan, Health, 27 Sep. 2025

The phrase ‘skin and bones’ doesn’t do justice to the way her body has been ravaged. —Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 30 July 2025

In other cancer models, including brain, skin and bone, the drug was even able to wipe out tumors without the assistance of any other treatment. —New Atlas, 18 July 2025

Rhymes for skin and bones

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