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 of skull

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

One of the largest mass graves in Mexico was reported in 2017 when more than 250 skulls were found in what appeared to be a drug cartel mass burial ground on the outskirts of the city of Veracruz. —CBS News, 10 Apr. 2026

For example, there’s quite a bit of autopsy footage in Faces of Death — lots of literal getting under the skin, and also, in one of the movie’s more stomach-turning moments, having skin peeled back off a skull. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2026

Verb

The ball was sitting on such tight grass that he easily could have chunked or skulled it. —Daniel Rapaport, SI.com, 17 June 2019

This leaves one big question: Why were people drilling into one another’s skulls 5,000 years ago in the first place? —Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 25 Apr. 2018

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

1889, 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

Rhymes for skull

• cull
• dull
• gul
• gull
• lull
• ndebele
• null
• scull
• stull
• trull
• tulle
• seagull

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