Definition of skeleton in English:

skeleton

noun ˈskɛlɪt(ə)nˈskɛlətn

1An internal or external framework of bone, cartilage, or other rigid material supporting or containing the body of an animal or plant.
骨骼
the human skeleton
Example sentencesExamples
- Skeletons Sponges, like all animals, possess some sort of a skeleton that gives their bodies shape.
- Man and most vertebrates are characterized by an internal rather than an external skeleton.
- This fish has a skeleton partly of bone and partly of cartilage.
- At about thirty years of age, the human skeleton is as heavy and strong as it will ever get.
- While human bodies have skeletons of bones, our cells have a framework made of a filamentous network.
- Despite the apparent differences produced by an internal versus an external skeleton, the control problems faced by the two groups are formally the same.
- Unlike many fish, which have bony skeletons, shark skeletons are made entirely of cartilage, which grows throughout the animal's life.
- Lobsters are considered crustaceans, which means that they have a hard external skeleton or exoskeleton.
- He believes their canine teeth would have caused little damage to a hominid skeleton.
- The advantage of an internal skeleton is that it allows the animal to grow much larger than is the case with the arthropod type exoskeleton.
- Scientists have found skeletons of a human species that grew no larger than a three-year-old modern child.
- As bone after bone is added, the skeleton begins to take shape.
- Tadpoles have no jaws, lungs or eyelids, and possess a skeleton of cartilage.
- These forms had two dorsal fins rather than one, and all the fins were supported by an internal skeleton and musculature.
- The researchers found no separated bones or partial skeletons, which suggests that the dinosaurs were rapidly entombed while still alive.
- Without an internal skeleton, it has to propel itself across the seafloor with bands of minute, hydraulically powered tube feet.
- Years ago we realized that if we combined all our accidents, there was hardly a bone in the human skeleton we hadn't broken.
- The calcitic ossicles of crinoids, as is typical of echinoderms, form an internal skeleton that provides support and protection.
- The human body has a dynamic framework of bone and cartilage called the skeleton.
- The axial skeleton is rigid and may or may not contact the carapace.
1. 1.1 Used in reference to a very thin or emaciated person or animal.
  瘦骨嶙峋（或憔悴）的人（或动物）
  she was no more than a skeleton at the end
  她最后瘦得只剩下骨头。
  Example sentencesExamples
  His tattered clothes hung loosely on his pale and thin skeleton as he thrust three bottles of scotch to the side.
  The next man seemed to be a skeleton, and his voice was just as thin.
  Being already a thin child when she lost weight she became like a skeleton and as pale as the pure driven snow.
  I was only 5 when I first saw it and for years just couldn't comprehend that the emaciated distressed skeletons shown were actually people.
  Synonyms
  skin and bone, stick, scrag
  informal bag of bones
  Scottish informal skinnymalinky
  archaic starveling
2. 1.2 The remaining part of something after its life or usefulness is gone.
  骨架；残骸
  the chapel was stripped to a skeleton of its former self
  这座小教堂剥落得只剩下原先的骨架。
  Example sentencesExamples
  The place was a complete wreck, a skeleton, there was nothing there - it was just gutted.
  The structure was reduced to a charred skeleton and had to be demolished, prompting a campaign to restore the rundown Victorian public gardens.
  The words of a former owner still haunt Cappielow, and particularly the shell of the Cowshed, as the stand sits skeleton - like, waiting for the investment that never came.
  On either side the rusting skeletons of dead trucks lined the route like a line of memento mori.
  Synonyms
  wreck, debris, detritus, remainder
2The supporting framework, basic structure, or essential part of something.
框架；基本结构；基本部分
the concrete skeleton of an unfinished building
一栋未竣工大楼的混凝土框架。
the skeleton of a report
报告的大纲。
Example sentencesExamples
- I saw the movie long back and I just remember the basic skeleton of the story.
- The steel skeleton is stabilised by the spiralling ramps and by a concrete lift and stair tower on the west side overlooking the main entrance to the zoo.
- The white concrete skeleton of the new stand is developing while business, with some difficulty, goes on around.
- The basic skeleton of all languages is grammar, that is structure which, when mastered, enables anything to be said.
- The first step is to cut through the gloss you will find in ‘every thing is beautiful’ brochures and get down to the bare skeleton structure of what is being offered.
- Sheltered by an undulating copper canopy on a wooden skeleton, the garden's form and content celebrates life's diversity.
- That structure provides a skeleton of sorts for the ship.
- I have the basic skeleton, but other than that I am still trying to figure things out.
- The studio was made with a skeleton of built-up wood frames within a skin of galvanized metal.
- Let's start with this skeleton, containing a basic title section.
- Building has begun in earnest on the metal skeleton for the northern section of Manchester's new-look Arndale shopping centre.
Synonyms
framework, basic structure, frame, shell
chassis
outline, draft, abstract, plan, blueprint
main points, bones, bare bones
sketch, rough draft
1. 2.1as modifier Denoting the essential or minimum number of people, things, or parts necessary for something.
  （某事必需的）最基本（或最少）的人（或物、部件）；基干；骨干
  there was only a skeleton staff on duty
  只有一些基干人员在值班。
  Example sentencesExamples
  If a strike had gone ahead, the action would have left the city with only a skeleton bus service operating from three of York's Park & Ride sites today.
  Non-essential High Commission workers are leaving, with just a skeleton staff of 40 left to man Britain's biggest overseas mission.
  The US company seems to have a skeleton staff at the moment.
  Many other services operated with skeleton staff.
  Council offices reduced to skeleton staff manning because most of the people are sleeping off the previous night's counting.
  The service never shuts down, and even on Christmas Day a skeleton staff is on duty.
  Most international organizations have already sent their staff out of the region, while a few are still working with skeleton staffs only.
  Both schools have remained open, operating with skeleton staff.
  It is in the municipalities and corporations the health service finds it difficult to operate with skeleton staff.
  Jobcentres and benefit offices in York were operating with a skeleton staff today as workers began 48-hour strike action in an increasingly bitter pay dispute.
  But there is only a skeleton staff to keep it going in the face of £500-a-day running costs and shrinking finances for day-to-day bills.
  Many schools in major centres were either closed, virtually deserted or operating on skeleton staff.
  Many elderly parents will have to struggle to care for their severely disabled adult children at home while the residential centres operate on a skeleton service.
  Samwu said that it had a local agreement in place for a skeleton staff to maintain essential services, but this had not been ratified at a national level.
  The State Department was operating a skeleton staff.
  Hospital services were disrupted and a skeleton staff left to operate the casualty and emergency departments.
  Many local services remain either closed or on skeleton service.
  Five landfill sites will be open, but with skeleton staff only.
  The strike hit most public services, forcing hospitals to stay open with skeleton staff and closing down schools.
  Operations are still being run by a skeleton staff of six, but many other employees have already found new jobs with the support of Appleby Heritage Centre.
  Synonyms
  minimum, minimal, smallest possible, basic, reduced
  essential, bare-bones
3A small toboggan for one person, ridden head first while lying in a prone position.
the skeleton's runners make a terrifying rumbling sound as they slide down the ice
she can hit 70+ mph on her skeleton sled
Example sentencesExamples
- These athletes have had to adjust to being forced with G-factors around the bends of the course that are 3 or 4 G, and staying with the Skeleton sled to the bottom.
- Bob skeleton is where a sport where athletes race down a sloped ice track on a small sled (i.e. a 'skeleton').
- Skeletons do not have any brakes or suspension and with top speeds exceeding 80 mph, this is not a sport for the timid.
- Jackson expects to eventually find himself in the back seat of a Tomcat roaring through the sky at speeds many times faster than a skeleton sled travels.
- He relives it each time he slides head first down an ice track on his skeleton sled, his chin a mere two inches off the ice.
- They ride the older-style toboggans - known as skeletons - which have a sliding platform on top that allows a rider to shift his weight back and forth for extra control.
- One evening at the Olympic Park, I bump into Lincoln DeWitt, who until 1997 couldn't tell you the difference between a skeleton sled and a Flexible Flyer.
1. 3.1mass noun A sport in which a competitor races down a frozen track on a skeleton sled.
  the former heptathlete took up skeleton in 2010
  as modifier the Canadian men's skeleton team
  Example sentencesExamples
  The Winter Olympics feature events such as the skeleton, the bobsleigh and snowboarding, as well as traditional winter sports such as ice skating, skiing and curling.
  There's a number of sports on the Winter Olympic program that are largely unknown to many Australians, sports like the Skeleton, Biathlon, and Curling.
  Both curling and skeleton (you hop on a rectangular plastic ice skate and shoot down a frozen water-slide) are Olympic sports.
  Alexander Tretiakov sealed Russia's first Olympic gold in skeleton.
  He'll be joined in skeleton by first-time Olympic athlete Katharine Eustace who finished her qualification season with strong performances.
  The show will see a slew of stars attempt various Winter Olympic sports such as bobsleighing, slalom skiing and skeleton.
  The Olympic athlete celebrated his gold-medal win in skeleton by walking through Whistler Village with a pitcher of beer in hand.
  Skeleton, which is like inverted luge, has not been a medal sport since 1948 and makes its postmodern debut this year in Salt Lake.
  After attending a Girls4Gold programme aimed at identifying future Olympic athletes she was told she was suited to the skeleton.
  Fifteen athletes have been named to the New Zealand Olympic Winter Team in snowboard, freeski, alpine skiing, ice speed skating and skeleton.

Phrases

skeleton in the cupboard

A discreditable or embarrassing fact that someone wishes to keep secret.
〈美〉不可告人的丑事
Example sentencesExamples
- The couple, devout Catholics, don't seem to have any skeletons in the closet, until the police dig deeper.
- Most adults, whether in jail or not, have skeletons in the closet.
- We all have our hidden secrets, our skeletons in the closet, our feelings of guilt; these things weigh on everyone to a degree.
- People say you don't go very far back before you find some skeletons in the closet but what I found out about my great great grandfather hit me quite hard.
- First and foremost is that there should not be any skeletons in the cupboard.
- But she isn't the only one with a skeleton in the closet; Danny is hiding a secret of his own.
- When we think of secrets, we think of all those the skeletons in the closet.
- It is the skeleton in the closet, the Pandora's box yet unopened.
- Brooke had some dirty laundry and some skeletons in the closet that she would not have liked brought to light, but she rarely tried to persecute others through her own misdeeds.
- By keeping the skeletons in the cupboard, the city's face is saved.

Derivatives

skeletonize

verb ˈskɛlɪt(ə)nʌɪzˈskɛlətnˌaɪz

[with object]

Reduce to a skeleton.
wolves can skeletonize a cow in thirty seconds
Example sentencesExamples
- as they grow, the larvae skeletonize the leaves
- skeletonized human remains
- At 7’ overall, the knife is the perfect size for everyday carry, made even easier by weight saved by skeletonizing the handle.
- I'm now worried that if I'll be skeletonised if I ever fall asleep at my desk.
- They can skeletonize a cow in under thirty seconds!

Origin

Late 16th century: modern Latin, from Greek, neuter of skeletos 'dried up', from skellein 'dry up'.

This is modern Latin, from the Greek skeletos ‘dried up’. The general sense ‘supporting framework’ is found from the mid 17th century.

Definition of skeleton in US English:

skeleton

nounˈskelətnˈskɛlətn

1An internal or external framework of bone, cartilage, or other rigid material supporting or containing the body of an animal or plant.
骨骼
Example sentencesExamples
- While human bodies have skeletons of bones, our cells have a framework made of a filamentous network.
- Skeletons Sponges, like all animals, possess some sort of a skeleton that gives their bodies shape.
- Lobsters are considered crustaceans, which means that they have a hard external skeleton or exoskeleton.
- The advantage of an internal skeleton is that it allows the animal to grow much larger than is the case with the arthropod type exoskeleton.
- The researchers found no separated bones or partial skeletons, which suggests that the dinosaurs were rapidly entombed while still alive.
- At about thirty years of age, the human skeleton is as heavy and strong as it will ever get.
- The calcitic ossicles of crinoids, as is typical of echinoderms, form an internal skeleton that provides support and protection.
- As bone after bone is added, the skeleton begins to take shape.
- The axial skeleton is rigid and may or may not contact the carapace.
- He believes their canine teeth would have caused little damage to a hominid skeleton.
- Scientists have found skeletons of a human species that grew no larger than a three-year-old modern child.
- Without an internal skeleton, it has to propel itself across the seafloor with bands of minute, hydraulically powered tube feet.
- Man and most vertebrates are characterized by an internal rather than an external skeleton.
- Despite the apparent differences produced by an internal versus an external skeleton, the control problems faced by the two groups are formally the same.
- Tadpoles have no jaws, lungs or eyelids, and possess a skeleton of cartilage.
- These forms had two dorsal fins rather than one, and all the fins were supported by an internal skeleton and musculature.
- Unlike many fish, which have bony skeletons, shark skeletons are made entirely of cartilage, which grows throughout the animal's life.
- This fish has a skeleton partly of bone and partly of cartilage.
- Years ago we realized that if we combined all our accidents, there was hardly a bone in the human skeleton we hadn't broken.
- The human body has a dynamic framework of bone and cartilage called the skeleton.
1. 1.1 Used in exaggerated reference to a very thin or emaciated person or animal.
  瘦骨嶙峋（或憔悴）的人（或动物）
  she was no more than a skeleton at the end
  她最后瘦得只剩下骨头。
  Example sentencesExamples
  The next man seemed to be a skeleton, and his voice was just as thin.
  Being already a thin child when she lost weight she became like a skeleton and as pale as the pure driven snow.
  I was only 5 when I first saw it and for years just couldn't comprehend that the emaciated distressed skeletons shown were actually people.
  His tattered clothes hung loosely on his pale and thin skeleton as he thrust three bottles of scotch to the side.
  Synonyms
  skin and bone, stick, scrag
2. 1.2 The remaining part of something after its life or usefulness is gone.
  骨架；残骸
  the chapel was stripped to a skeleton of its former self
  这座小教堂剥落得只剩下原先的骨架。
  Example sentencesExamples
  On either side the rusting skeletons of dead trucks lined the route like a line of memento mori.
  The structure was reduced to a charred skeleton and had to be demolished, prompting a campaign to restore the rundown Victorian public gardens.
  The words of a former owner still haunt Cappielow, and particularly the shell of the Cowshed, as the stand sits skeleton - like, waiting for the investment that never came.
  The place was a complete wreck, a skeleton, there was nothing there - it was just gutted.
  Synonyms
  wreck, debris, detritus, remainder
2The supporting framework, basic structure, or essential part of something.
框架；基本结构；基本部分
the concrete skeleton of an unfinished building
一栋未竣工大楼的混凝土框架。
the skeleton of a report
报告的大纲。
Example sentencesExamples
- That structure provides a skeleton of sorts for the ship.
- I saw the movie long back and I just remember the basic skeleton of the story.
- I have the basic skeleton, but other than that I am still trying to figure things out.
- The basic skeleton of all languages is grammar, that is structure which, when mastered, enables anything to be said.
- Building has begun in earnest on the metal skeleton for the northern section of Manchester's new-look Arndale shopping centre.
- Sheltered by an undulating copper canopy on a wooden skeleton, the garden's form and content celebrates life's diversity.
- The steel skeleton is stabilised by the spiralling ramps and by a concrete lift and stair tower on the west side overlooking the main entrance to the zoo.
- The white concrete skeleton of the new stand is developing while business, with some difficulty, goes on around.
- The first step is to cut through the gloss you will find in ‘every thing is beautiful’ brochures and get down to the bare skeleton structure of what is being offered.
- Let's start with this skeleton, containing a basic title section.
- The studio was made with a skeleton of built-up wood frames within a skin of galvanized metal.
Synonyms
framework, basic structure, frame, shell
outline, draft, abstract, plan, blueprint
1. 2.1as modifier Denoting the essential or minimum number of people, things, or parts necessary for something.
  （某事必需的）最基本（或最少）的人（或物、部件）；基干；骨干
  there was only a skeleton staff on duty
  只有一些基干人员在值班。
  Example sentencesExamples
  Samwu said that it had a local agreement in place for a skeleton staff to maintain essential services, but this had not been ratified at a national level.
  The service never shuts down, and even on Christmas Day a skeleton staff is on duty.
  If a strike had gone ahead, the action would have left the city with only a skeleton bus service operating from three of York's Park & Ride sites today.
  The US company seems to have a skeleton staff at the moment.
  It is in the municipalities and corporations the health service finds it difficult to operate with skeleton staff.
  Five landfill sites will be open, but with skeleton staff only.
  Many other services operated with skeleton staff.
  Many elderly parents will have to struggle to care for their severely disabled adult children at home while the residential centres operate on a skeleton service.
  Hospital services were disrupted and a skeleton staff left to operate the casualty and emergency departments.
  Operations are still being run by a skeleton staff of six, but many other employees have already found new jobs with the support of Appleby Heritage Centre.
  The State Department was operating a skeleton staff.
  The strike hit most public services, forcing hospitals to stay open with skeleton staff and closing down schools.
  Jobcentres and benefit offices in York were operating with a skeleton staff today as workers began 48-hour strike action in an increasingly bitter pay dispute.
  Most international organizations have already sent their staff out of the region, while a few are still working with skeleton staffs only.
  Council offices reduced to skeleton staff manning because most of the people are sleeping off the previous night's counting.
  Many local services remain either closed or on skeleton service.
  But there is only a skeleton staff to keep it going in the face of £500-a-day running costs and shrinking finances for day-to-day bills.
  Many schools in major centres were either closed, virtually deserted or operating on skeleton staff.
  Both schools have remained open, operating with skeleton staff.
  Non-essential High Commission workers are leaving, with just a skeleton staff of 40 left to man Britain's biggest overseas mission.
  Synonyms
  minimum, minimal, smallest possible, basic, reduced
3A small sled for one person, ridden head first while lying in a prone position.
the skeleton's runners make a terrifying rumbling sound as they slide down the ice
she can hit 70+ mph on her skeleton sled
Example sentencesExamples
- One evening at the Olympic Park, I bump into Lincoln DeWitt, who until 1997 couldn't tell you the difference between a skeleton sled and a Flexible Flyer.
- Bob skeleton is where a sport where athletes race down a sloped ice track on a small sled (i.e. a 'skeleton').
- They ride the older-style toboggans - known as skeletons - which have a sliding platform on top that allows a rider to shift his weight back and forth for extra control.
- These athletes have had to adjust to being forced with G-factors around the bends of the course that are 3 or 4 G, and staying with the Skeleton sled to the bottom.
- He relives it each time he slides head first down an ice track on his skeleton sled, his chin a mere two inches off the ice.
- Jackson expects to eventually find himself in the back seat of a Tomcat roaring through the sky at speeds many times faster than a skeleton sled travels.
- Skeletons do not have any brakes or suspension and with top speeds exceeding 80 mph, this is not a sport for the timid.
1. 3.1 A sport in which a competitor races down a frozen track on a skeleton sled.
  the former heptathlete took up skeleton in 2010
  as modifier the Canadian men's skeleton team
  Example sentencesExamples
  He'll be joined in skeleton by first-time Olympic athlete Katharine Eustace who finished her qualification season with strong performances.
  The Olympic athlete celebrated his gold-medal win in skeleton by walking through Whistler Village with a pitcher of beer in hand.
  After attending a Girls4Gold programme aimed at identifying future Olympic athletes she was told she was suited to the skeleton.
  The show will see a slew of stars attempt various Winter Olympic sports such as bobsleighing, slalom skiing and skeleton.
  Fifteen athletes have been named to the New Zealand Olympic Winter Team in snowboard, freeski, alpine skiing, ice speed skating and skeleton.
  There's a number of sports on the Winter Olympic program that are largely unknown to many Australians, sports like the Skeleton, Biathlon, and Curling.
  Alexander Tretiakov sealed Russia's first Olympic gold in skeleton.
  Skeleton, which is like inverted luge, has not been a medal sport since 1948 and makes its postmodern debut this year in Salt Lake.
  The Winter Olympics feature events such as the skeleton, the bobsleigh and snowboarding, as well as traditional winter sports such as ice skating, skiing and curling.
  Both curling and skeleton (you hop on a rectangular plastic ice skate and shoot down a frozen water-slide) are Olympic sports.

Phrases

skeleton in the closet

A discreditable or embarrassing fact that someone wishes to keep secret.
〈美〉不可告人的丑事
Example sentencesExamples
- The couple, devout Catholics, don't seem to have any skeletons in the closet, until the police dig deeper.
- Brooke had some dirty laundry and some skeletons in the closet that she would not have liked brought to light, but she rarely tried to persecute others through her own misdeeds.
- But she isn't the only one with a skeleton in the closet; Danny is hiding a secret of his own.
- It is the skeleton in the closet, the Pandora's box yet unopened.
- First and foremost is that there should not be any skeletons in the cupboard.
- People say you don't go very far back before you find some skeletons in the closet but what I found out about my great great grandfather hit me quite hard.
- When we think of secrets, we think of all those the skeletons in the closet.
- By keeping the skeletons in the cupboard, the city's face is saved.
- We all have our hidden secrets, our skeletons in the closet, our feelings of guilt; these things weigh on everyone to a degree.
- Most adults, whether in jail or not, have skeletons in the closet.

Origin

Late 16th century: modern Latin, from Greek, neuter of skeletos ‘dried up’, from skellein ‘dry up’.

词汇	skeleton
释义	Definition of skeleton in English: skeleton noun ˈskɛlɪt(ə)nˈskɛlətn 1An internal or external framework of bone, cartilage, or other rigid material supporting or containing the body of an animal or plant. 骨骼 the human skeleton Example sentencesExamples Skeletons Sponges, like all animals, possess some sort of a skeleton that gives their bodies shape. Man and most vertebrates are characterized by an internal rather than an external skeleton. This fish has a skeleton partly of bone and partly of cartilage. At about thirty years of age, the human skeleton is as heavy and strong as it will ever get. While human bodies have skeletons of bones, our cells have a framework made of a filamentous network. Despite the apparent differences produced by an internal versus an external skeleton, the control problems faced by the two groups are formally the same. Unlike many fish, which have bony skeletons, shark skeletons are made entirely of cartilage, which grows throughout the animal's life. Lobsters are considered crustaceans, which means that they have a hard external skeleton or exoskeleton. He believes their canine teeth would have caused little damage to a hominid skeleton. The advantage of an internal skeleton is that it allows the animal to grow much larger than is the case with the arthropod type exoskeleton. Scientists have found skeletons of a human species that grew no larger than a three-year-old modern child. As bone after bone is added, the skeleton begins to take shape. Tadpoles have no jaws, lungs or eyelids, and possess a skeleton of cartilage. These forms had two dorsal fins rather than one, and all the fins were supported by an internal skeleton and musculature. The researchers found no separated bones or partial skeletons, which suggests that the dinosaurs were rapidly entombed while still alive. Without an internal skeleton, it has to propel itself across the seafloor with bands of minute, hydraulically powered tube feet. Years ago we realized that if we combined all our accidents, there was hardly a bone in the human skeleton we hadn't broken. The calcitic ossicles of crinoids, as is typical of echinoderms, form an internal skeleton that provides support and protection. The human body has a dynamic framework of bone and cartilage called the skeleton. The axial skeleton is rigid and may or may not contact the carapace. 1.1 Used in reference to a very thin or emaciated person or animal. 瘦骨嶙峋（或憔悴）的人（或动物） she was no more than a skeleton at the end 她最后瘦得只剩下骨头。 Example sentencesExamples His tattered clothes hung loosely on his pale and thin skeleton as he thrust three bottles of scotch to the side. The next man seemed to be a skeleton, and his voice was just as thin. Being already a thin child when she lost weight she became like a skeleton and as pale as the pure driven snow. I was only 5 when I first saw it and for years just couldn't comprehend that the emaciated distressed skeletons shown were actually people. Synonyms skin and bone, stick, scrag informal bag of bones Scottish informal skinnymalinky archaic starveling 1.2 The remaining part of something after its life or usefulness is gone. 骨架；残骸 the chapel was stripped to a skeleton of its former self 这座小教堂剥落得只剩下原先的骨架。 Example sentencesExamples The place was a complete wreck, a skeleton, there was nothing there - it was just gutted. The structure was reduced to a charred skeleton and had to be demolished, prompting a campaign to restore the rundown Victorian public gardens. The words of a former owner still haunt Cappielow, and particularly the shell of the Cowshed, as the stand sits skeleton - like, waiting for the investment that never came. On either side the rusting skeletons of dead trucks lined the route like a line of memento mori. Synonyms wreck, debris, detritus, remainder 2The supporting framework, basic structure, or essential part of something. 框架；基本结构；基本部分 the concrete skeleton of an unfinished building 一栋未竣工大楼的混凝土框架。 the skeleton of a report 报告的大纲。 Example sentencesExamples I saw the movie long back and I just remember the basic skeleton of the story. The steel skeleton is stabilised by the spiralling ramps and by a concrete lift and stair tower on the west side overlooking the main entrance to the zoo. The white concrete skeleton of the new stand is developing while business, with some difficulty, goes on around. The basic skeleton of all languages is grammar, that is structure which, when mastered, enables anything to be said. The first step is to cut through the gloss you will find in ‘every thing is beautiful’ brochures and get down to the bare skeleton structure of what is being offered. Sheltered by an undulating copper canopy on a wooden skeleton, the garden's form and content celebrates life's diversity. That structure provides a skeleton of sorts for the ship. I have the basic skeleton, but other than that I am still trying to figure things out. The studio was made with a skeleton of built-up wood frames within a skin of galvanized metal. Let's start with this skeleton, containing a basic title section. Building has begun in earnest on the metal skeleton for the northern section of Manchester's new-look Arndale shopping centre. Synonyms framework, basic structure, frame, shell chassis outline, draft, abstract, plan, blueprint main points, bones, bare bones sketch, rough draft 2.1as modifier Denoting the essential or minimum number of people, things, or parts necessary for something. （某事必需的）最基本（或最少）的人（或物、部件）；基干；骨干 there was only a skeleton staff on duty 只有一些基干人员在值班。 Example sentencesExamples If a strike had gone ahead, the action would have left the city with only a skeleton bus service operating from three of York's Park & Ride sites today. Non-essential High Commission workers are leaving, with just a skeleton staff of 40 left to man Britain's biggest overseas mission. The US company seems to have a skeleton staff at the moment. Many other services operated with skeleton staff. Council offices reduced to skeleton staff manning because most of the people are sleeping off the previous night's counting. The service never shuts down, and even on Christmas Day a skeleton staff is on duty. Most international organizations have already sent their staff out of the region, while a few are still working with skeleton staffs only. Both schools have remained open, operating with skeleton staff. It is in the municipalities and corporations the health service finds it difficult to operate with skeleton staff. Jobcentres and benefit offices in York were operating with a skeleton staff today as workers began 48-hour strike action in an increasingly bitter pay dispute. But there is only a skeleton staff to keep it going in the face of £500-a-day running costs and shrinking finances for day-to-day bills. Many schools in major centres were either closed, virtually deserted or operating on skeleton staff. Many elderly parents will have to struggle to care for their severely disabled adult children at home while the residential centres operate on a skeleton service. Samwu said that it had a local agreement in place for a skeleton staff to maintain essential services, but this had not been ratified at a national level. The State Department was operating a skeleton staff. Hospital services were disrupted and a skeleton staff left to operate the casualty and emergency departments. Many local services remain either closed or on skeleton service. Five landfill sites will be open, but with skeleton staff only. The strike hit most public services, forcing hospitals to stay open with skeleton staff and closing down schools. Operations are still being run by a skeleton staff of six, but many other employees have already found new jobs with the support of Appleby Heritage Centre. Synonyms minimum, minimal, smallest possible, basic, reduced essential, bare-bones 3A small toboggan for one person, ridden head first while lying in a prone position. the skeleton's runners make a terrifying rumbling sound as they slide down the ice she can hit 70+ mph on her skeleton sled Example sentencesExamples These athletes have had to adjust to being forced with G-factors around the bends of the course that are 3 or 4 G, and staying with the Skeleton sled to the bottom. Bob skeleton is where a sport where athletes race down a sloped ice track on a small sled (i.e. a 'skeleton'). Skeletons do not have any brakes or suspension and with top speeds exceeding 80 mph, this is not a sport for the timid. Jackson expects to eventually find himself in the back seat of a Tomcat roaring through the sky at speeds many times faster than a skeleton sled travels. He relives it each time he slides head first down an ice track on his skeleton sled, his chin a mere two inches off the ice. They ride the older-style toboggans - known as skeletons - which have a sliding platform on top that allows a rider to shift his weight back and forth for extra control. One evening at the Olympic Park, I bump into Lincoln DeWitt, who until 1997 couldn't tell you the difference between a skeleton sled and a Flexible Flyer. 3.1mass noun A sport in which a competitor races down a frozen track on a skeleton sled. the former heptathlete took up skeleton in 2010 as modifier the Canadian men's skeleton team Example sentencesExamples The Winter Olympics feature events such as the skeleton, the bobsleigh and snowboarding, as well as traditional winter sports such as ice skating, skiing and curling. There's a number of sports on the Winter Olympic program that are largely unknown to many Australians, sports like the Skeleton, Biathlon, and Curling. Both curling and skeleton (you hop on a rectangular plastic ice skate and shoot down a frozen water-slide) are Olympic sports. Alexander Tretiakov sealed Russia's first Olympic gold in skeleton. He'll be joined in skeleton by first-time Olympic athlete Katharine Eustace who finished her qualification season with strong performances. The show will see a slew of stars attempt various Winter Olympic sports such as bobsleighing, slalom skiing and skeleton. The Olympic athlete celebrated his gold-medal win in skeleton by walking through Whistler Village with a pitcher of beer in hand. Skeleton, which is like inverted luge, has not been a medal sport since 1948 and makes its postmodern debut this year in Salt Lake. After attending a Girls4Gold programme aimed at identifying future Olympic athletes she was told she was suited to the skeleton. Fifteen athletes have been named to the New Zealand Olympic Winter Team in snowboard, freeski, alpine skiing, ice speed skating and skeleton. Phrases skeleton in the cupboard A discreditable or embarrassing fact that someone wishes to keep secret. 〈美〉不可告人的丑事 Example sentencesExamples The couple, devout Catholics, don't seem to have any skeletons in the closet, until the police dig deeper. Most adults, whether in jail or not, have skeletons in the closet. We all have our hidden secrets, our skeletons in the closet, our feelings of guilt; these things weigh on everyone to a degree. People say you don't go very far back before you find some skeletons in the closet but what I found out about my great great grandfather hit me quite hard. First and foremost is that there should not be any skeletons in the cupboard. But she isn't the only one with a skeleton in the closet; Danny is hiding a secret of his own. When we think of secrets, we think of all those the skeletons in the closet. It is the skeleton in the closet, the Pandora's box yet unopened. Brooke had some dirty laundry and some skeletons in the closet that she would not have liked brought to light, but she rarely tried to persecute others through her own misdeeds. By keeping the skeletons in the cupboard, the city's face is saved. Derivatives skeletonize verb ˈskɛlɪt(ə)nʌɪzˈskɛlətnˌaɪz [with object] Reduce to a skeleton. wolves can skeletonize a cow in thirty seconds Example sentencesExamples as they grow, the larvae skeletonize the leaves skeletonized human remains At 7’ overall, the knife is the perfect size for everyday carry, made even easier by weight saved by skeletonizing the handle. I'm now worried that if I'll be skeletonised if I ever fall asleep at my desk. They can skeletonize a cow in under thirty seconds! Origin Late 16th century: modern Latin, from Greek, neuter of skeletos 'dried up', from skellein 'dry up'. This is modern Latin, from the Greek skeletos ‘dried up’. The general sense ‘supporting framework’ is found from the mid 17th century. noun.1 phr. Definition of skeleton in US English: skeleton nounˈskelətnˈskɛlətn 1An internal or external framework of bone, cartilage, or other rigid material supporting or containing the body of an animal or plant. 骨骼 Example sentencesExamples While human bodies have skeletons of bones, our cells have a framework made of a filamentous network. Skeletons Sponges, like all animals, possess some sort of a skeleton that gives their bodies shape. Lobsters are considered crustaceans, which means that they have a hard external skeleton or exoskeleton. The advantage of an internal skeleton is that it allows the animal to grow much larger than is the case with the arthropod type exoskeleton. The researchers found no separated bones or partial skeletons, which suggests that the dinosaurs were rapidly entombed while still alive. At about thirty years of age, the human skeleton is as heavy and strong as it will ever get. The calcitic ossicles of crinoids, as is typical of echinoderms, form an internal skeleton that provides support and protection. As bone after bone is added, the skeleton begins to take shape. The axial skeleton is rigid and may or may not contact the carapace. He believes their canine teeth would have caused little damage to a hominid skeleton. Scientists have found skeletons of a human species that grew no larger than a three-year-old modern child. Without an internal skeleton, it has to propel itself across the seafloor with bands of minute, hydraulically powered tube feet. Man and most vertebrates are characterized by an internal rather than an external skeleton. Despite the apparent differences produced by an internal versus an external skeleton, the control problems faced by the two groups are formally the same. Tadpoles have no jaws, lungs or eyelids, and possess a skeleton of cartilage. These forms had two dorsal fins rather than one, and all the fins were supported by an internal skeleton and musculature. Unlike many fish, which have bony skeletons, shark skeletons are made entirely of cartilage, which grows throughout the animal's life. This fish has a skeleton partly of bone and partly of cartilage. Years ago we realized that if we combined all our accidents, there was hardly a bone in the human skeleton we hadn't broken. The human body has a dynamic framework of bone and cartilage called the skeleton. 1.1 Used in exaggerated reference to a very thin or emaciated person or animal. 瘦骨嶙峋（或憔悴）的人（或动物） she was no more than a skeleton at the end 她最后瘦得只剩下骨头。 Example sentencesExamples The next man seemed to be a skeleton, and his voice was just as thin. Being already a thin child when she lost weight she became like a skeleton and as pale as the pure driven snow. I was only 5 when I first saw it and for years just couldn't comprehend that the emaciated distressed skeletons shown were actually people. His tattered clothes hung loosely on his pale and thin skeleton as he thrust three bottles of scotch to the side. Synonyms skin and bone, stick, scrag 1.2 The remaining part of something after its life or usefulness is gone. 骨架；残骸 the chapel was stripped to a skeleton of its former self 这座小教堂剥落得只剩下原先的骨架。 Example sentencesExamples On either side the rusting skeletons of dead trucks lined the route like a line of memento mori. The structure was reduced to a charred skeleton and had to be demolished, prompting a campaign to restore the rundown Victorian public gardens. The words of a former owner still haunt Cappielow, and particularly the shell of the Cowshed, as the stand sits skeleton - like, waiting for the investment that never came. The place was a complete wreck, a skeleton, there was nothing there - it was just gutted. Synonyms wreck, debris, detritus, remainder 2The supporting framework, basic structure, or essential part of something. 框架；基本结构；基本部分 the concrete skeleton of an unfinished building 一栋未竣工大楼的混凝土框架。 the skeleton of a report 报告的大纲。 Example sentencesExamples That structure provides a skeleton of sorts for the ship. I saw the movie long back and I just remember the basic skeleton of the story. I have the basic skeleton, but other than that I am still trying to figure things out. The basic skeleton of all languages is grammar, that is structure which, when mastered, enables anything to be said. Building has begun in earnest on the metal skeleton for the northern section of Manchester's new-look Arndale shopping centre. Sheltered by an undulating copper canopy on a wooden skeleton, the garden's form and content celebrates life's diversity. The steel skeleton is stabilised by the spiralling ramps and by a concrete lift and stair tower on the west side overlooking the main entrance to the zoo. The white concrete skeleton of the new stand is developing while business, with some difficulty, goes on around. The first step is to cut through the gloss you will find in ‘every thing is beautiful’ brochures and get down to the bare skeleton structure of what is being offered. Let's start with this skeleton, containing a basic title section. The studio was made with a skeleton of built-up wood frames within a skin of galvanized metal. Synonyms framework, basic structure, frame, shell outline, draft, abstract, plan, blueprint 2.1as modifier Denoting the essential or minimum number of people, things, or parts necessary for something. （某事必需的）最基本（或最少）的人（或物、部件）；基干；骨干 there was only a skeleton staff on duty 只有一些基干人员在值班。 Example sentencesExamples Samwu said that it had a local agreement in place for a skeleton staff to maintain essential services, but this had not been ratified at a national level. The service never shuts down, and even on Christmas Day a skeleton staff is on duty. If a strike had gone ahead, the action would have left the city with only a skeleton bus service operating from three of York's Park & Ride sites today. The US company seems to have a skeleton staff at the moment. It is in the municipalities and corporations the health service finds it difficult to operate with skeleton staff. Five landfill sites will be open, but with skeleton staff only. Many other services operated with skeleton staff. Many elderly parents will have to struggle to care for their severely disabled adult children at home while the residential centres operate on a skeleton service. Hospital services were disrupted and a skeleton staff left to operate the casualty and emergency departments. Operations are still being run by a skeleton staff of six, but many other employees have already found new jobs with the support of Appleby Heritage Centre. The State Department was operating a skeleton staff. The strike hit most public services, forcing hospitals to stay open with skeleton staff and closing down schools. Jobcentres and benefit offices in York were operating with a skeleton staff today as workers began 48-hour strike action in an increasingly bitter pay dispute. Most international organizations have already sent their staff out of the region, while a few are still working with skeleton staffs only. Council offices reduced to skeleton staff manning because most of the people are sleeping off the previous night's counting. Many local services remain either closed or on skeleton service. But there is only a skeleton staff to keep it going in the face of £500-a-day running costs and shrinking finances for day-to-day bills. Many schools in major centres were either closed, virtually deserted or operating on skeleton staff. Both schools have remained open, operating with skeleton staff. Non-essential High Commission workers are leaving, with just a skeleton staff of 40 left to man Britain's biggest overseas mission. Synonyms minimum, minimal, smallest possible, basic, reduced 3A small sled for one person, ridden head first while lying in a prone position. the skeleton's runners make a terrifying rumbling sound as they slide down the ice she can hit 70+ mph on her skeleton sled Example sentencesExamples One evening at the Olympic Park, I bump into Lincoln DeWitt, who until 1997 couldn't tell you the difference between a skeleton sled and a Flexible Flyer. Bob skeleton is where a sport where athletes race down a sloped ice track on a small sled (i.e. a 'skeleton'). They ride the older-style toboggans - known as skeletons - which have a sliding platform on top that allows a rider to shift his weight back and forth for extra control. These athletes have had to adjust to being forced with G-factors around the bends of the course that are 3 or 4 G, and staying with the Skeleton sled to the bottom. He relives it each time he slides head first down an ice track on his skeleton sled, his chin a mere two inches off the ice. Jackson expects to eventually find himself in the back seat of a Tomcat roaring through the sky at speeds many times faster than a skeleton sled travels. Skeletons do not have any brakes or suspension and with top speeds exceeding 80 mph, this is not a sport for the timid. 3.1 A sport in which a competitor races down a frozen track on a skeleton sled. the former heptathlete took up skeleton in 2010 as modifier the Canadian men's skeleton team Example sentencesExamples He'll be joined in skeleton by first-time Olympic athlete Katharine Eustace who finished her qualification season with strong performances. The Olympic athlete celebrated his gold-medal win in skeleton by walking through Whistler Village with a pitcher of beer in hand. After attending a Girls4Gold programme aimed at identifying future Olympic athletes she was told she was suited to the skeleton. The show will see a slew of stars attempt various Winter Olympic sports such as bobsleighing, slalom skiing and skeleton. Fifteen athletes have been named to the New Zealand Olympic Winter Team in snowboard, freeski, alpine skiing, ice speed skating and skeleton. There's a number of sports on the Winter Olympic program that are largely unknown to many Australians, sports like the Skeleton, Biathlon, and Curling. Alexander Tretiakov sealed Russia's first Olympic gold in skeleton. Skeleton, which is like inverted luge, has not been a medal sport since 1948 and makes its postmodern debut this year in Salt Lake. The Winter Olympics feature events such as the skeleton, the bobsleigh and snowboarding, as well as traditional winter sports such as ice skating, skiing and curling. Both curling and skeleton (you hop on a rectangular plastic ice skate and shoot down a frozen water-slide) are Olympic sports. Phrases skeleton in the closet A discreditable or embarrassing fact that someone wishes to keep secret. 〈美〉不可告人的丑事 Example sentencesExamples The couple, devout Catholics, don't seem to have any skeletons in the closet, until the police dig deeper. Brooke had some dirty laundry and some skeletons in the closet that she would not have liked brought to light, but she rarely tried to persecute others through her own misdeeds. But she isn't the only one with a skeleton in the closet; Danny is hiding a secret of his own. It is the skeleton in the closet, the Pandora's box yet unopened. First and foremost is that there should not be any skeletons in the cupboard. People say you don't go very far back before you find some skeletons in the closet but what I found out about my great great grandfather hit me quite hard. When we think of secrets, we think of all those the skeletons in the closet. By keeping the skeletons in the cupboard, the city's face is saved. We all have our hidden secrets, our skeletons in the closet, our feelings of guilt; these things weigh on everyone to a degree. Most adults, whether in jail or not, have skeletons in the closet. Origin Late 16th century: modern Latin, from Greek, neuter of skeletos ‘dried up’, from skellein ‘dry up’. noun.1 phr.
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