skeletonskel•e•ton /'skelɪt(ə)n/

n C

1. 骨骼；骨骼标本

• an animal skeleton 动物骨骼标本

2. 纲要，提要；轮廓

• the skeleton of a plan 计划纲要

• the skeleton of a composition 作文提纲

3. 非正式 骨瘦如柴的人(或动物)

• The child was starved to a skeleton. 孩子饿得只剩下一把骨头了。

词组a skeleton in the cupboard (或 closet) 非正式 家丑，隐情

• I guess it must be their skeleton in the cupboard, so they don't want to talk about this matter. 我猜这件事一定有隐情，所以他们才不愿意提起。