Noun
1. something reduced to its minimal form;
"the battalion was a mere skeleton of its former self""the bare skeleton of a novel"2. a scandal that is kept secret;
"there must be a skeleton somewhere in that family's closet"3. the hard structure (bones and cartilages) that provides a frame for the body of an animal
4. the internal supporting structure that gives an artifact its shape;
"the building has a steel skeleton"