Definitions for skeleton
ˈskɛl ɪ tnskele·ton

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. skeletonnoun

   something reduced to its minimal form

   "the battalion was a mere skeleton of its former self"; "the bare skeleton of a novel"

2. skeleton, skeleton in the closet, skeleton in the cupboardnoun

   a scandal that is kept secret

   "there must be a skeleton somewhere in that family's closet"

3. skeletal system, skeleton, frame, systema skeletalenoun

   the hard structure (bones and cartilages) that provides a frame for the body of an animal

4. skeleton, skeletal frame, frame, underframenoun

   the internal supporting structure that gives an artifact its shape

   "the building has a steel skeleton"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. skeletonnoun

   The system that provides support to an organism, internal and made up of bones and cartilage in vertebrates, external in some other animals.

2. skeletonnoun

   A frame that provides support to a building or other construction.

3. skeletonnoun

   A very thin person.

   She lost so much weight while she was ill that she became a skeleton.

4. skeletonnoun

   (From the sled used, which originally was a bare frame, like a skeleton.) A type of tobogganing in which competitors lie face down, and descend head first (compare luge). See Wikipedia:Skeleton (sport)

5. skeletonnoun

   The vertices and edges of a polyhedron, taken collectively.

6. skeletonnoun

   An anthropomorphic representation of a skeleton. See Wikipedia:Skeleton (undead)

   She dressed up as a skeleton for Halloween.

7. skeletonnoun

   The central core of something that gives shape to the entire structure.

   The skeleton of the organisation is essentially the same as it was ten years ago, but many new faces have come and gone.

8. skeletonverb

   to reduce to a skeleton; to skin; to skeletonize

9. skeletonverb

   to minimize

10. Etymology: From σκελετός, from σκελλώ.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Skeletonnoun

   Etymology: σϰελετὸς, Greek.

   1. [In anatomy.]The bones of the body preserved together as much as can be in their natural situation. John Quincy

   When rattling bones together fly,
   From the four corners of the sky;
   When sinews o’er the skeletons are spread,
   Those cloth’d with flesh, and life inspires the dead. Dryden.

   A skeleton, in outward figure,
   His meagre corps, though full of vigour,
   Would halt behind him were it bigger. Jonathan Swift.

   2. The compages of the principal parts.

   The great structure itself, and its great integrals, the heavenly and elementary bodies, are framed in such a position and situation, the great skeleton of the world. Matthew Hale.

   The schemes of any of the arts or sciences may be analyzed in a sort of skeleton, and represented upon tables, with the various dependencies of their several parts. Isaac Watts.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Skeleton

   A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body, and the hydroskeleton, a flexible internal skeleton supported by fluid pressure. Vertebrates are animals with a vertebral column, and their skeletons are typically composed of bone and cartilage. Invertebrates are animals that lack a vertebral column. The skeletons of invertebrates vary, including hard exoskeleton shells, plated endoskeletons, or spicules. Cartilage is a rigid connective tissue that is found in the skeletal systems of vertebrates and invertebrates.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Skeletonnoun

   the bony and cartilaginous framework which supports the soft parts of a vertebrate animal

2. Skeletonnoun

   the more or less firm or hardened framework of an invertebrate animal

3. Skeletonnoun

   a very thin or lean person

4. Skeletonnoun

   the framework of anything; the principal parts that support the rest, but without the appendages

5. Skeletonnoun

   the heads and outline of a literary production, especially of a sermon

6. Skeletonadjective

   consisting of, or resembling, a skeleton; consisting merely of the framework or outlines; having only certain leading features of anything; as, a skeleton sermon; a skeleton crystal

7. Etymology: [NL., fr. Gr. (sc. ) a dried body, a mummy, fr. dried up, parched, to dry, dry up, parch.]

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Skeleton

   The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body. In a figurative sense, skeleton can refer to technology that supports a structure such as a building.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Skeleton

   skel′e-tun, n. the bones of an animal separated from the flesh and preserved in their natural position: the framework or outline of anything: a very lean and emaciated person: a very thin form of light-faced type.—adj. pertaining to a skeleton—also Skel′etal.—ns. Skeletog′eny (-toj′-); Skeletog′raphy; Skeletol′ogy.—v.t. Skel′etonise, to reduce to a skeleton.—n. Skel′eton-key, a key for picking locks, without the inner bits.—Skeleton in the cupboard, closet, house, &c., some hidden domestic source of sorrow or shame. [Gr. skeleton (sōma), a dried (body)—skeletos, dried—skellein, to dry, to parch.]

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. skeleton

   A word applied to regiments that have become reduced in their number of men.

EntomologyRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Skeleton

   the hard chitinous parts which externally (exoskeleton) or internally (endoskeleton) form a protective covering, or serve as points of attachment, to muscles and other soft organs.

Matched Categories

1. • Minimum
   • Scandal
   • Supporting Structure

How to pronounce skeleton?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say skeleton in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of skeleton in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of skeleton in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of skeleton in a Sentence

1. Victoria Arbour:

   The spikes running all the way down Zuul's tail were a fantastic surprise to me -- like nothing I've ever seen in a North American ankylosaur, it was the size and shape of the tail club and tail spikes, combined with the shape of the horns and ornaments on the skull, that confirmed this skeleton was a new species of ankylosaur.

2. Adele Pentland:

   With a total of 30 bones preserved, or 10 percent of Ferrodracos skeleton, the number of pterosaur bones reported from Australia has now tripled.

3. Angus Hohenboken from aid group:

   There's a landscape of skeleton trees and patchworks of square outlines where houses used to be, it's really quite a saddening sight.

4. Charles de LEUSSE:

   The skeleton, it’s the death: It’s in our body. (Le squelette, c'est la mort : Il est dans notre corps)

5. Professor Sarah Hainsworth:

   Using modern forensic examination, we have discovered that Richard's skeleton sustained 11 wounds at or near the time of his death.

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