: including only what is most basic or necessary
a bare-bones email program
Skyscrapers of steel hung with curtain walls of glass, these sleek buildings were impressive monuments to bare-bones architectural integrity.—
C. A. Mills
C. A. Mills
: the barest essentials, facts, or elements
the bare bones of her life
Examples of bare-bones in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Barbara Schuler, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2024
People inscribe their experiences, their worries and their innermost thoughts during their visits to the bare-bones, rustic cabins of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
—Elissa Robinson, Detroit Free Press, 26 Oct. 2024
Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 19 Nov. 2024
There is a place for bare bones hotel rooms — just not on this list.
—Catherine Garcia, theweek, 7 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bare-bones 
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Adjective
This is a bare-bones production with no lavish set or winding staircase.
—Barbara Schuler, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2024
People inscribe their experiences, their worries and their innermost thoughts during their visits to the bare-bones, rustic cabins of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
—Elissa Robinson, Detroit Free Press, 26 Oct. 2024
Plural noun
The move comes as budget airlines face increasing competition from legacy carriers, which are edging them out of some airports with their own low-cost fares for a bare bones plane ticket.
—Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 19 Nov. 2024
There is a place for bare bones hotel rooms — just not on this list.
—Catherine Garcia, theweek, 7 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bare-bones
Dictionary Entries Near bare-bones
Cite this Entry
“Bare-bones.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bare-bones. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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