Link Centre Dictionary

skeleton

ske·le·ton

UK/ˈskɛlɪtən/ US/ˈskɛlətən/ fairly common

noun

1.

something reduced to its minimal form

  • “the battalion was a mere skeleton of its former self”
  • “the bare skeleton of a novel”
2.

a scandal that is kept secret

  • “there must be a skeleton somewhere in that family”
Synonyms
3.

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

Synonyms
4.

the internal supporting structure that gives an artifact its shape

  • “the building has a steel skeleton”
Synonyms

Origin

From New Latin sceleton, from Ancient Greek σκελετόν (skeletón), the neuter of σκελετός (skeletós, “dried up, withered, dried body, parched, mummy”), from σκέλλω (skéllō, “dry, dry up, make dry, parch”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to parch, wither”); compare Ancient Greek σκληρός (sklērós, “hard”).

Phrases

  • articulated skeleton
  • hydrostatic skeleton
  • skeleton at the feast
  • skeleton bill
  • Skeleton Clique
  • skeleton clock
  • skeleton crew

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.