skeleton

skel•e•ton n. [countable]

Anatomy, Zoologythe bones of a human or animal thought of as a whole, together forming the inner framework of the body.
a very thin, underweight person or animal.
Building, Nautical, Naval Termsa supporting framework, as of a leaf, building, or ship.
an outline, as of a piece of writing:Can you describe the skeleton of the plot?

adj.

of or relating to a skeleton.
reduced to the essential parts or numbers:They kept a skeleton staff working during the holidays.

Idioms

Idioms skeleton in the closet, [countable] any embarrassing, shameful, or damaging secret.

skel•e•ton n.

Anatomy, Zoologythe bones of a human or an animal considered as a whole, together forming the framework of the body.
Anatomy, Zoologyany of various structures forming a rigid framework in an invertebrate.
an emaciated person or animal.
Building, Nautical, Naval Termsa supporting framework, as of a leaf, building, or ship.
an outline, as of a literary work:the skeleton of the plot.
something reduced to its essential parts.
skeleton at the feast, a person or thing that casts gloom over a joyful occasion;
a note or reminder of sorrow in the midst of joy.
skeleton in the closet or cupboard:
- a family scandal that is concealed to avoid public disgrace.
- any embarrassing, shameful, or damaging secret.

adj.

of or pertaining to a skeleton.
like or being a mere framework;
reduced to the essential or minimal parts or numbers:a skeleton staff.

Greek: mummy, noun, nominal use of neuter of skeletós dried up, verbid of skéllein to dry
Neo-Latin
1570–80

skel′e•ton•less, adj.
skel′e•ton•like′,?r> adj.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

skeleton /ˈskɛlɪtən/ n

a hard framework consisting of inorganic material that supports and protects the soft parts of an animal's body and provides attachment for muscles: may be internal (an endoskeleton), as in vertebrates, or external (an exoskeleton), as in arthropods
See also endoskeleton, exoskeleton
informal a very thin emaciated person or animal
the essential framework of any structure, such as a building or leaf, that supports or determines the shape of the rest of the structure
a small sleigh for racing over a frozen track, steered by the rider by movements of the head and shoulders
a winter sport in which a rider races down a frozen track on a skeleton sleigh
an outline consisting of bare essentials: the skeleton of a novel
(modifier) US Canadian reduced to a minimum: a skeleton staff
skeleton in the cupboard, US Canadian skeleton in the closet ⇒ a scandalous fact or event in the past that is kept secret

Etymology: 16th Century: via New Latin from Greek: something desiccated, from skellein to dry upˈskeletal adj ˈskeleton-ˌlike adj

'skeleton' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

Collocations: skeletons from the [sixteenth] century, the skeleton of an early humanoid, [found, came across, discovered] skeletons (of), more...

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