bare bone
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun 1. A bone stripped of flesh: This refers to a bone from which all soft tissue, such as muscle and skin, has been removed, leaving only the hard, mineralized structure. 2. The most basic, essential, or fundamental element of something: Used metaphorically to describe the simplest, most stripped-down version of an idea, plan, or object, without any extra features or embellishments.
Usage Examples
- Literal Meaning:
- The archaeologists found the bare bone of an ancient animal.
- The sculpture was carved from a single, large bare bone.
- Metaphorical Meaning:
- Let's start with the bare bones of the proposal before we add any details.
- After the fire, only the bare bones of the house were left standing.
- The report provides just the bare bones of the incident.
Advanced Usage
- "the bare bones": Almost exclusively used in the plural form when referring to the metaphorical meaning of basic essentials.
- I only have time for the bare bones of the story.
- Function as a modifier: Often used adjectivally before another noun (typically hyphenated as "bare-bones").
- They presented a bare-bones budget with no room for extras.
- The software is still in a bare-bones state.
Variants and Related Words
- Bare-bones (adjective): Constituting or providing only the most basic or essential features.
- The apartment came with bare-bones furniture.
- Bareboned (adjective): An alternative, less common spelling for "bare-bones."
Synonyms
- Literal: Cleaned bone, defleshed bone.
- Metaphorical: Basics, essentials, core, fundamentals, skeleton, outline, nuts and bolts.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- "cut/strip/pare something down to the bare bones": To reduce something to its most essential parts.
- We had to cut the budget down to the bare bones.
- "the bare bones of something": The essential facts or parts of something.
- She explained the bare bones of the theory.
Noun
- bone stripped of flesh