skeleton
noun
Simple meaning
The system that provides support to an organism, internal and made up of bones and cartilage in vertebrates, external in some other animals.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
skehluhtuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈskɛlətən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
anatomy
The system that provides support to an organism, internal and made up of bones and cartilage in vertebrates, external in some other animals.
The internal supporting structure that gives an artifact its shape
“The building has a steel skeleton.”
figuratively
The central core of something that gives shape to the entire structure.
figuratively
A very thin person.
A scandal that is kept secret
“There must be a skeleton somewhere in that family's closet.”
idiomatic
A shameful secret.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The system that provides support to an organism, internal and made up of bones and cartilage in vertebrates, external in some other animals.
Used this way, skeleton is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Internal / centralnoun
“The building has a steel skeleton.”
Scandalnoun
“There must be a skeleton somewhere in that family's closet.”
More ways to use skeleton
- “There must be a skeleton somewhere in that family's closet.”noun
- “The building has a steel skeleton.”noun
- “The battalion was a mere skeleton of its former self.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Pantropical epiphytic or terrestrial whisk fern with usually dull yellow branches and minute leaves.
A scandal that is kept secret.
A scandal that is kept secret.
A passkey with much of the bit filed away so that it can open different locks.
Small amphipod crustacean having a grotesque form suggestive of the praying mantis.
The part of the skeleton that includes the pectoral girdle and the pelvic girdle and the upper and lower limbs.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.