skull

1 of 2

noun

plural skulls
1
: the skeleton of the head of a vertebrate forming a bony or cartilaginous case that encloses and protects the brain and chief sense organs and supports the jaws
2
: the seat of understanding or intelligence : mind see also out of one's skull
skulled adjective
… the craniate (skulled) vertebrates … Eugene Solomon Talbot
  • usually used in combination
    large-skulled

skull

2 of 2

verb

skulled; skulling; skulls

transitive verb

1
: to hit on the head
2
: to unintentionally hit (a golf ball or shot) with the bottom edge of the clubface

Examples of skull in a Sentence

Noun He had a fractured skull. paleoanthropologists recently found the skull of a prehistoric man in a remote area of the desert
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Noun
Instead of popping the burrow out of the surrounding rock, Lovelace’s hammer shattered the rock and revealed the skull of a small animal. Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Dec. 2024 Two more partial skulls, one in New Zealand and one in Chile, later enabled scientists to confirm a brand-new species. Lex Harvey, CNN, 10 Dec. 2024
Verb
And, most incredibly, not after skulling a bunker shot on the par-5 14th, then hacking out to 30 feet. Daniel Rapaport, SI.com, 13 June 2019 The ball was sitting on such tight grass that he easily could have chunked or skulled it. Daniel Rapaport, SI.com, 17 June 2019 See all Example Sentences for skull 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English skulle, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish dialect skulle skull

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1945, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of skull was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near skull

Cite this Entry

“Skull.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skull. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

skull

noun
ˈskəl
1
: the case of bone or cartilage that forms the skeleton of the head and face, encloses the brain, and supports the jaws of vertebrates
2
: the location of understanding or intelligence : mind
skulled
ˈskəld
adjective

Medical Definition

skull

noun
: the skeleton of the head forming a bony case that encloses and protects the brain and chief sense organs and supports the jaws

More from Merriam-Webster on skull

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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