skeleton

«skeleton» in Mova's school dictionary: The frame of bones that supports and protects the body of… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a skeleton, skeletons); adjective (skeleton — the smallest number needed: skeleton staff)

meaning for a pupil

1) The frame of bones that supports and protects the body of a human or an animal. tree →

2) A model or picture of these bones, often used in science lessons or at Halloween. tree →

3) The main frame or structure of something, like a building or a story plan. tree →

4) Skeleton staff / crew: the smallest number of people needed to keep something running. tree →

5) A skeleton in the cupboard/closet: an embarrassing secret. tree →

6) A skeleton can also mean a person who is extremely thin. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science the skeleton has three jobs: support, protection (skull protects the brain, ribs protect heart and lungs) and movement (with muscles at joints). An adult human has 206 bones; babies have more that later join. Some animals have exoskeletons (outside skeletons) like insects and crabs; vertebrates have a backbone. Phrases: human skeleton, skeleton key, skeleton in the closet, skeleton staff.

examples

• The skeleton protects our heart and brain. tree →
• An adult human skeleton has 206 bones. tree →
• Insects have a skeleton on the outside called an exoskeleton. tree →
• We saw a dinosaur skeleton at the museum. tree →
• Your skeleton and muscles work together so you can move. tree →
• We made a plan — a skeleton of our story — before writing. tree →
• She dressed up as a skeleton for Halloween. tree →
• Over the holidays the office runs with a skeleton staff. tree →
• Till thy skin shrivels up and thou art a skeleton! tree →

note

Countable: a skeleton, skeletons. Babies are born with about 300 bones, some of which fuse, giving 206 in adults. «Skeleton in the cupboard» (UK) = «skeleton in the closet» (US).

In the corpora

• A shark's skeleton is made of cartilage, which is lighter and bendier than bone, so shark fossils are mostly teeth.
• A tortoise's shell is part of its skeleton, joined to its ribs and backbone, so it can never leave it.
• Corals are tiny animals called polyps that build limestone skeletons; algae living inside them make food from sunlight and share it.
• Some Smilodon skeletons show healed injuries, so scientists think they may have lived in groups, though this is still argued about.
• Sauropod bones had air pockets inside, as birds' bones do, which made the skeleton lighter and helped breathing.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «skeleton» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.