skin and bones
idiom
variants
or skin and bone
informal
: very thin in a way that is unattractive and unhealthy
After the illness, he was skin and bones.
The starving dog was nothing but skin and bones.
Examples of skin and bones in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The team then used an imaging method called light sheet fluorescence microscopy to measure the growth and shape of the layers of skin and bone on the crocodiles’ heads.
—
Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Dec. 2024
Other tins, like Season’s, remove the skin and bones for you.
—Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 7 Oct. 2024
In the film, which opened Friday, Stan plays Edward, a man with neurofibromatosis, a genetic condition that causes tumors to grow on the skin and bone.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 21 Sep. 2024
Arthur is now skin and bones, his face creased with despair.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for skin and bones 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Dec. 2024
Other tins, like Season’s, remove the skin and bones for you.
—Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 7 Oct. 2024
In the film, which opened Friday, Stan plays Edward, a man with neurofibromatosis, a genetic condition that causes tumors to grow on the skin and bone.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 21 Sep. 2024
Arthur is now skin and bones, his face creased with despair.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for skin and bones
Dictionary Entries Near skin and bones
Cite this Entry
“Skin and bones.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skin%20and%20bones. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share