skull

1 of 2

noun

ˈskəl 

plural skulls

1

: the skeleton of the head of a vertebrate forming a bony or cartilaginous case that encloses and protects the brain and chief sense organs and supports the jaws

2

: the seat of understanding or intelligence : mind see also out of one's skull

skulled

ˈskəld 

adjective

… the craniate (skulled) vertebrates …

—Eugene Solomon Talbot

• — usually used in combination
  large-skulled

skull

2 of 2

verb

skulled; skulling; skulls

transitive verb

1

: to hit on the head

2

: to unintentionally hit (a golf ball or shot) with the bottom edge of the clubface

Synonyms

Noun

• cranium

Examples of skull in a Sentence

Noun

He had a fractured skull.

paleoanthropologists recently found the skull of a prehistoric man in a remote area of the desert

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

At the Chelsea production offices, an elevator door opened and there was Bing, magisterial in every respect: a lean, muscular hundred and forty-five pounds and, by the prop department’s tape measure, forty-two inches tall from his forepaws to the top of his skull. —Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 6 May 2024

His ancestor’s skull is still kept in a storage room of the Institute for Natural Sciences. —Koba Ryckewaert, New York Times, 5 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English skulle, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish dialect skulle skull

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1945, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing skull

• get it into/through one's thick skull
• out of one's skull
• skull and crossbones
• skull session

Kids Definition

skull

noun

ˈskəl

1

: the case of bone or cartilage that forms the skeleton of the head and face, encloses the brain, and supports the jaws of vertebrates

2

: the location of understanding or intelligence : mind

skulled

ˈskəld

adjective

Medical Definition

skull

noun

ˈskəl 

: the skeleton of the head forming a bony case that encloses and protects the brain and chief sense organs and supports the jaws