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Glite Dictionary
skin and bones

skin and bones

9 5.6
Very thin with almost no fat or muscle
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : piel y huesos
  • The stray dog was clearly skin and bones after being lost for so long.
  • just skin and bones
  • reduced to skin and bones
  • a skin and bones man

And he is like skin and bones, like he hasn't eaten in weeks and he is starving.

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Examples

  • Look at her—only skin and bones, so that one feels sorry for her.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • But look at you, all skin and bones.

    Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

  • Poor guy's just skin and bones.

    Unidentified Flying Oddball (1979)

  • The child was just skin and bones.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • His feet and hands seemed huge because the rest of him had dwindled to skin and bones.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Because he took every hard-luck case and put in such long hours, he was soon down almost to skin and bones.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Look at my son, Larry, look at him, he's skin and bones.

    Reversal (2001)

  • He went from weighing about 275 pounds to just skin and bones in a matter of weeks.

    Daltry Calhoun (2005)

  • After weeks of illness, he looked like nothing but skin and bones.

  • When I saw her again, she was just skin and bones, much thinner than before.

Synonyms

bag of bones
vsskin and bones
  • Offensive
6 7.0

A very thin person or animal and sometimes a thing that is very worn and broken

focuses on having very little body flesh rather than poor condition
thin person
vsskin and bones
4 2.1

A person who has very little body fat and looks underweight

suggests extreme flesh loss rather than general slimness
stickman
vsskin and bones
  • Offensive
1 8.2

A very thin person whose clothes hang loosely

is informal while the other term is more neutral and descriptive
ectomorph
vsskin and bones
  • Specialized
1 9.4

A person with a naturally thin, lean body and little fat or muscle

refers to extreme thinness from lack of flesh rather than natural type
atomy
vsskin and bones
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A very small creature or a person who is extremely thin

describes extreme thinness but with plain wording about lack of flesh
scrag
vsskin and bones
  • Offensive
9.9

A very thin, bony person

means extreme thinness but less harsh and not medical

Antonyms

obese
126 3.8

Having too much body fat that can cause health problems

plump
44 2.7

A little fat and rounded in a healthy, attractive way

How Thin

skin and bones
  • Informal
9 5.6
scrawny
  • Informal
40 4.2
skinny
298 1.3
thin
314 1.0
slender
57 1.4

Surface Forms

skin and bones singular
skin and bones plural

Morphology

skin + and + bone

The meaning 'extremely thin' is directly and transparently derived from the literal image of only 'skin' and 'bones' remaining, so a B1 learner who knows 'skin' and 'bone' will readily infer the intended sense. This construction is a straightforward, image-based composition and similar literal idioms occur in many languages, supporting immediate comprehension.

Etymology

Skin and bones gives a simple image: a person with only skin stretched over bones, with almost no fat or muscle left. That's why it means 'extremely thin'.