skull
Forms
- Plural
- skulls
- present (v1)
- skull
- past (v2)
- skulled
- past participle (v3)
- skulled
- present participle
- skulling
- 3rd person singular
- skulls
Definitions
1.The main bones of the head considered as a unit; including the cranium, facial bones, and mandible.
2.These bones as a symbol for death; death's-head.
3.The mind or brain.
- My thoughts are flying around in my skull like fireflies in a jar, but all of a sudden I'm unbearably tired and can't stay awake.
4.A crust formed on the ladle, etc. by the partial cooling of molten metal.
1.To hit in the head with a fist, a weapon, or a thrown object.
2.To strike the top of (the ball).
- Monte swung so hard at the next ball that he skulled it straight right, into the pond: 8 in, 9 out.
3.To drink everything that remains in a glass by upending it.
- She nearly skulled the next drink and, despite feeling a little woozy, she felt a lot better.
- He skulled his drink, set the glass down, then grabbed the bottle and ambled over to the other couch.
- That was at Jessica Eyre's sixteenth, and while nothing terrible had happened (I had skulled four Lemon Ruskis and fallen asleep in the garden), it was agreed by all that I had embarrassed myself.
Frequency
Overall
Rare· #4362
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
From Middle English sculle, scolle (also schulle, scholle), probably from a dialectal form of Old Norse skalli (“bald head, skull”), itself probably related to Old English sċealu (“husk”), to Proto-Norse *ᛋᚲᚨᛚᛟ (*skalo), from Proto-Germanic *skallô; compare Finnish skallo. Compare Scots scull, Danish skal (“skull”) and skalle (“bald head, skull”), Norwegian skalle, Swedish skalle and especially dialectal Swedish skulle.