Phrase guide

skin and bones

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A person or an animal that is emaciated or very thin, as from lack of nutrition.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

Examples

  • Look at that starving dog; he's nothing more than skin and bones.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a person who is unusually thin and scrawny

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: thin person, scrag

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: person, individual, someone, somebody, mortal, soul

Narrower terms: spindlelegs, spindleshanks

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

59 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: en la pell i els óssos — emaciated; very skinny
  • Cebuano: panit ug bukog — emaciated; very skinny
  • Chinese Cantonese: 皮包骨 (pei4 baau1 gwat1) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Hakka Chinese: 皮包骨 (phì-pâu-kut) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Hakka Chinese: 筋渣膜絡 /筋渣膜络 (kîn-châ-mo̍k-lo̍k) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Chinese Mandarin: 骨瘦如柴 (gǔshòurúchái) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Chinese Mandarin: 皮包骨 (píbāogǔ) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Chinese Mandarin: 皮包骨頭 /皮包骨头 — emaciated; very skinny
  • Danish: skind og ben — emaciated; very skinny
  • Finnish: luuta ja nahkaa — emaciated; very skinny
  • Finnish: luuviulu — emaciated; very skinny
  • French: n’avoir que la peau sur les os — emaciated; very skinny
  • French: paquet d’os — emaciated; very skinny
  • Galician: pel e ósos — emaciated; very skinny
  • German: Haut und Knochen — emaciated; very skinny
  • German: ein Strich in der Landschaft — emaciated; very skinny
  • Greek: οστεώδης (osteódis) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Hungarian: csont és bőr — emaciated; very skinny
  • Irish: an scrogall is an t-eagán — emaciated; very skinny
  • Italian: magro — emaciated; very skinny
  • Italian: smunto — emaciated; very skinny
  • Italian: tutta pelle — emaciated; very skinny
  • Italian: scarnito — emaciated; very skinny
  • Italian: sciupato — emaciated; very skinny
  • Italian: scavato — emaciated; very skinny
  • Italian: macilento — emaciated; very skinny
  • Italian: scheletrico — emaciated; very skinny
  • Italian: pelle e ossa — emaciated; very skinny
  • Italian: emaciato — emaciated; very skinny
  • Italian: secco — emaciated; very skinny
  • Italian: smilzo — emaciated; very skinny
  • Japanese: 痩せこけた (yasekoketa) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Latin: cutis et ossa — emaciated; very skinny
  • Latin: pellis et ossa — emaciated; very skinny
  • Latvian: kauli un āda — emaciated; very skinny
  • Macedonian: ко́жа и ко́ски (kóža i kóski) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Macedonian: ко́ски и ко́жа (kóski i kóža) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Macedonian: ко́жа и ко́ска (kóža i kóska) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Macedonian: ко́ска и ко́жа (kóska i kóža) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Norwegian Bokmål: skinn og bein — emaciated; very skinny
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: skinn og bein — emaciated; very skinny
  • Polish: skóra i kości — emaciated; very skinny
  • Portuguese: pele e osso — emaciated; very skinny
  • Russian: ко́жа да ко́сти (kóža da kósti) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Russian: ко́сти да ко́жа (kósti da kóža) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Russian: одна́ ко́жа да ко́сти (odná kóža da kósti) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Serbo-Croatian: кост и кожа — emaciated; very skinny
  • Serbo-Croatian: kost i koža — emaciated; very skinny
  • Spanish: piel y huesos — emaciated; very skinny
  • Spanish: escuchimizado — emaciated; very skinny
  • Spanish: hueso y pellejo — emaciated; very skinny
  • Spanish: estar en los huesos — emaciated; very skinny
  • Swedish: skinn och ben — emaciated; very skinny
  • Tagalog: buto't balat — emaciated; very skinny
  • Tamil: எலும்பும்தோலுமாக (elumpumtōlumāka) — emaciated; very skinny
  • Thai: หนังหุ้มกระดูก — emaciated; very skinny
  • Walloon: li pea so les oxheas — emaciated; very skinny
  • Walloon: li pea so les oxhs — emaciated; very skinny
  • Walloon: banse d' oxheas — emaciated; very skinny