bag of bones

IPA/ˌbæɡ əv ˈbəʊnz/
IPA/ˌbæɡ əv ˈboʊnz/

bag of bones — noun

1. a person or animal that is so thin their bones seem to push through the skin, as

1.nounB2
Definition

a person or animal that is so thin their bones seem to push through the skin, as if there were nothing else holding them together

Example

After weeks lost in the mountains, Amir was a bag of bones when rescuers found him.

collocation: was a bag of bones

Keiko rescued a starving greyhound from the street—just a bag of bones.

Synonyms
  • skinny

    more general and milder; can describe someone who is simply slim, not necessarily unwell

  • scrawny

    similar informal tone, often used for animals or young people

  • emaciated

    formal and medical; implies starvation or serious illness

  • gaunt

    emphasises facial hollowness and a tired, drawn look

Antonyms
  • plump

    pleasantly rounded; much milder opposite

  • hefty

    large and solidly built; informal register

Usage Note

Always used as a complete phrase with a determiner ('a bag of bones'), never plural. Usually follows verbs like 'be', 'look like', or 'become'.

Common Mistakes

The museum displayed a bag of bones from the dig site.
The museum displayed a sack of bones from the dig site.
'a bag of bones' always describes a living thing; use 'sack of bones' or 'bag holding bones' for the literal meaning.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These words all describe a lack of body flesh but differ in severity and tone. 'Skinny' is the mildest and most everyday — a skinny person may be healthy but lean. 'Scrawny' adds a note of weakness or poor condition, often describing animals or underfed children. 'Gaunt' points to a hollow-cheeked, exhausted appearance, typically from illness or extreme hardship. 'Emaciated' is the strongest and most clinical, reserved for dangerous wasting from starvation or disease. 'A bag of bones' sits in informal territory: it paints a vivid, almost shocking picture and is never neutral — it expresses pity, concern, or alarm. You would not call a fashion model 'a bag of bones' without sounding harsh. Comparing the two: 'The scrawny kitten shivered in the rain' is sympathetic but mild; 'The kitten was a bag of bones' is more urgent, suggesting the animal is near death.

skinny ↗scrawnyemaciated ↗gaunt ↗

Etymology

English

The phrase 'bag of bones' draws on a blunt, physical image: a sack filled with loose bones, suggesting a body that has lost nearly all its flesh and substance. It has been used in English since at least the early 1700s to describe people or animals reduced to a skeletal state by hunger or illness.