cranium

noun

cra·​ni·​um ˈkrā-nē-əm 

plural craniums or crania ˈkrā-nē-ə 

: skull

specifically : the part of the skull that encloses the brain : braincase

Among the physical characters that distinguish them from other early humans are the long, low sweep of the Neanderthal cranium …

—James Shreeve

"Hey, big head!" Mahorn shouted. Aguirre does, in fact, have an extraordinary cranium.

—Jeff Coplon

You don't "watch" a film like Fight Club; you mainline a deluge of visual and sonic information (including a hefty chunk of the IKEA catalog) straight into your cranium.

—Jeff Gordinier

Synonyms

• skull

Examples of cranium in a Sentence

the cranium of a Neanderthal is striking for its brow ridges

Recent Examples on the Web

Levantine cranium from Manot Cave (Israel) foreshadows the first European modern humans BBC. —Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 9 Dec. 2024

Early hominins were often known from pieces of jaw, isolated craniums and individual skeletal pieces. —Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Nov. 2024

To process information about the world and to keep your body running, electric pulses flash through 86 billion neurons packed into spongy folds of tissue inside your cranium. —IEEE Spectrum, 30 May 2017

In 1985 researchers working in northern Kenya discovered a 2.5-million-year-old cranium of the robust australopith Paranthropus aethiopicus. —Donald C. Johanson, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin, from Greek kranion; akin to Greek kara head — more at cerebral

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cranium

noun

cra·​ni·​um ˈkrā-nē-əm 

plural craniums or crania

-nē-ə

: skull sense 1

especially : the part that encloses the brain

Medical Definition

cranium

noun

cra·​ni·​um ˈkrā-nē-əm 

plural craniums or crania -nē-ə 

: skull

specifically : braincase