skeleton
noun
1. something reduced to its minimal form
- the battalion was a mere skeleton of its former self
- the bare skeleton of a novel
Definition categories: quantity, minimum
2. a scandal that is kept secret
- there must be a skeleton somewhere in that family's closet
Definition categories: event, outrage, scandal
3. the hard structure (bones and cartilages) that provides a frame for the body of an animal
Similar word(s): frame
Definition categories: body, system
4. the internal supporting structure that gives an artifact its shape
- the building has a steel skeleton
Similar word(s): frame, underframe
Definition categories: man–made
Sentences with skeleton as a noun:
- She lost so much weight while she was ill that she became a skeleton.
- RMI Nomenclature: in RMI, the client helper is a 'stub' and the service helper is a 'skeleton'.
- She dressed up as a skeleton for Halloween.
- The skeleton of the organisation is essentially the same as it was ten years ago, but many new faces have come and gone.
verb
1. (archaic) to reduce to a skeleton; to skin; to skeletonize
2. (archaic) to minimize