skull
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The main bones of the head considered as a unit.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
skuhlIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈskʌl
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 main bones of the head considered as a unit; including the cranium, facial bones, and mandible.
figuratively
The mind or brain.
These bones as a symbol for death; death's-head.
The crown of the headpiece in armour.
A crust formed on the ladle, etc. by the partial cooling of molten metal.
verb
To hit in the head with a fist, a weapon, or a thrown object.
To drink everything that remains in a glass by upending it.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The main bones of the head considered as a unit; including the cranium, facial bones, and mandible.
Used this way, skull 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.
More ways to use skull
- “We found a deer skull in the woods during our hike.”
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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.