Noun
They found the fossil skeleton of a mastodon.
He hung a plastic skeleton on the door for Halloween.
She was a skeleton after her illness.
Only the charred skeleton of the house remained after the fire.
We saw a skeleton of the report before it was published.
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Noun
Thigh-highs date as far back as the 15th century, where they were typically worn by men — as demonstrated by the medieval skeleton found embedded in London’s River Thames in 2018.—Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 20 May 2025 When the ocean warms, the algae give corals their vibrant hues are pushed out, leaving them as white skeletons.—Karen Hua, CBS News, 19 May 2025
Adjective
Six weeks after his birth, Rivera and Dorsey gave the first glimpse at their newborn by posting a picture of him on Instagram in a skeleton Halloween costume.—Ariana Quihuiz, Peoplemag, 29 June 2023 See All Example Sentences for skeleton
Word History
Etymology
Noun
New Latin, from Greek, neuter of skeletos dried up; akin to Greek skellein to dry up, sklēros hard and perhaps to Old English sceald shallow
: a firm supporting or protecting structure or framework of a living thing
especially: a framework made of bone or sometimes cartilage that supports the soft tissues and protects the internal organs of a vertebrate (as a fish or human being) compare endoskeleton, exoskeleton
2
: a very thin person or animal
3
: something forming a structural framework
skeleton
2 of 2adjective
1
: of, consisting of, or resembling a skeleton
a skeleton hand
2
: consisting of the smallest possible number of persons who can get a job done
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