skull and crossbones
/ˌskʌl n̩ ˈkɹɔsboʊnz/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.30 in modern English
27
Scrabble Score
18
Letters
2
Syllables
12
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A depiction of a human skull and two crossed femurs (thighbones), a symbol of death traditionally used on the Jolly Roger pirate flag, but now used on chemical containers and other hazardous items as an indicator of warning of toxicity or other life-threatening dangers or risks.
Example Sentences
- "In an obscure corner of the town stands a house of extreme antiquity, over the door of which are still to be seen a skull and crossbones."
- "She stood within the chamber, and gazed around her; no signs by which an Inquisitor of old could have detected the Scholar of the Black Arts were visible. No crucibles and caldrons, no brass-bound volumes and ciphered girdles, no skulls and crossbones."
- "Escorted to the sign of the Skull-and-Cross-Bones, we received the very best entertainment which that royal inn could afford."
- "Mark those bottles, my dear sirs, as housewives do corrosive sublimate or ratsbane,—with a skull and crossbones, and label them "Poison," for the effect of them upon the luckless wight who should taste their contents, would be convulsive, very."
- "His own taste combined the gloomy and the grotesque, his clothes and his [book] bindings alike being covered with skulls and crossbones, and spangles to represent tears, with other conventional emblems of sorrow."
- "And this was open rebellion. This was hoisting the skull and cross-bones."
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌskʌl n̩ ˈkɹɔsboʊnz/
- British English: /ˌskʌl n̩ ˈkɹɒsbəʊnz/