verb
- reducing something to its basic framework or essential structure by removing flesh, material, or non-essential parts
Usage: present participle of skeletonize; British spelling
Examples
- The beetles were skeletonising the dead bird, leaving only bones behind.
- The artist was skeletonising the sculpture, removing excess clay to reveal the core form.
- Time and weather were slowly skeletonising the abandoned wooden structure.
- The researcher spent months skeletonising the ancient remains for study.
- Acid rain was skeletonising the metal framework of the old bridge.
- The fire had finished skeletonising the forest, leaving only charred trunks.