skeletonize

S1K5E1L1E1T1O1N1I1Z10E1

verb

To reduce to a skeleton.

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Meanings

verbskeletonize (third-person singular simple present skeletonizes, present participle skeletonizing, simple past and past participle skeletonized)

present singular third person skeletonizes · participle present skeletonizing · participle past skeletonized · past skeletonized · alternative skeletonise

  1. transitiveTo reduce to a skeleton.

    A school of piranhas crawled out from the water, made its way to the capital of Lima, and skeletonized the prime minister in just under 30 seconds.

    2012, The Onion Book of Known Knowledge, page 8
  2. figurativelytransitiveTo reduce to little or nothing.
  3. transitiveTo reduce weight by creating cutouts and using less material.

Origin

From skeleton + -ize.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Spanish esqueletizar
  • esqueletizarTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

skeletonize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skeletonize

MLA

“skeletonize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skeletonize. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “skeletonize,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skeletonize.

Source: skeletonize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.