: 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
: the barest essentials, facts, or elements
the bare bones of her life
Examples of bare-bones in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Kff Health News, Oc Register, 6 Jan. 2026
In a back room at Stanford University, engineers have mocked up a bare-bones grocery store, complete with shelves, baskets, and a scattering of unlabeled cans.
—James Vincent, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2026
After the mother-daughter duo arrive at the construction are, a bare bones structure and yellow caution tape can be seen in the background.
—Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 21 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bare-bones
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
Under Obamacare, both states were able to expand Medicaid to include more low-income residents, alleviating counties of patient loads and redirecting much of their funding for the patchwork of local programs that provided bare-bones services.
—Plural noun
The inside is stripped down to its bare bones while the space is being prepped to repaint.
—Cite this Entry
“Bare-bones.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bare-bones. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share