: including only what is most basic or necessary
a bare-bones email program
Skyscrapers of steel hung with curtain walls of glass, these sleek buildings were impressive monuments to bare-bones architectural integrity.—
C. A. Mills
C. A. Mills
: the barest essentials, facts, or elements
the bare bones of her life
Examples of bare-bones in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 1 Apr. 2025
The mayor has so far mounted an almost nonexistent campaign, hiring a bare-bones staff and raising a meager $36,000 in the most recent fundraising period.
—David Sivak, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 24 Mar. 2025
Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
Many of those efforts came to a halt when the Trump administration stripped the agency down to bare bones.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 9 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bare-bones
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Adjective
Martin called out the fact that the city provides only bare-bones information about each death.
—Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 1 Apr. 2025
The mayor has so far mounted an almost nonexistent campaign, hiring a bare-bones staff and raising a meager $36,000 in the most recent fundraising period.
—David Sivak, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 24 Mar. 2025
Plural noun
The Solidarity Center’s online presence has been stripped to its bare bones.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
Many of those efforts came to a halt when the Trump administration stripped the agency down to bare bones.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 9 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bare-bones
Cite this Entry
“Bare-bones.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bare-bones. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
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