How to Use bare-bones in a Sentence

bare-bones

1 of 2 adjective
  • These aren’t bare-bones fares either.
    — Paris Wilson, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Dec. 2025
  • But the rub is that the Truck is fairly bare-bones.
    — Sara Lacey, The Drive, 25 June 2026
  • But this was in many ways a bare-bones show about a world of excess and artifice.
    — Jenelle Riley, Variety, 9 June 2025
  • They are designed to be bare-bones, durable and portable.
    — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026
  • This one adds an extra hanging rod and even shelves to a bare-bones, one-rod closet.
    — Lisa Lombardi, wsj.com, 15 Sep. 2023
  • The Senate blueprint is far more bare-bones than the House plan.
    — Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
  • Some of the first, most bare-bones recipes simply called for rum, lime juice, sugar, and water.
    — Jasmine Smith, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Keep to a bare-bones look — as with Alaïa’s second-skin tube top and balloon-waist jeans.
    — Ari Stark, Footwear News, 27 June 2025
  • Follow the steps below to create your own bare-bones budget.
    — Jasmin Suknanan, CNBC, 17 Apr. 2026
  • This was a bare-bones operation.
    — Ian Parker, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
  • For many older adults, those cutbacks translate to bare-bones living.
    — Panashe Matemba-Mutasa, Mercury News, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Grilling and barbecue have, for decades, been pretty bare-bones affairs.
    — Chris Morris, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024
  • Despite its extreme performance, though, this isn’t a bare-bones track weapon.
    — Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2025
  • The first movie had a bare-bones plot, a skeleton scaffolding on which to hang set piece after set piece.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 20 Sep. 2023
  • Where to stay By far the smartest place to stay in a town still dominated by bare-bones bolt-holes.
    — Chris Schalkx, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Mar. 2026
  • This is a bare-bones production with no lavish set or winding staircase.
    — Barbara Schuler, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2024
  • For decades, Notepad has been a bare-bones text editor found in Windows.
    — Michael Kan, PCMAG, 22 Mar. 2024
  • The decor was bare-bones, but the prices were reasonable and the portions were generous.
    — David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2025
  • These will be your most bare-bones wall outlets, perfect for those looking to use them for essential use.
    — Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Getting used to the bare-bones shoot took time, but the nerve-racking encounters started on day one.
    — Alamin Yohannes, EW.com, 15 Jan. 2025
  • As a bare-bones gaming chair, the Novis doesn't have many adjustments.
    — PC Magazine, 21 May 2025
  • In fact, this bare-bones port lacks the original games' multiplayer modes.
    — PC Magazine, 21 Oct. 2025
  • But in a tiny casting room in the far corner of a bare-bones rehearsal studio, lethargy has been left at the door.
    — Kate Lloyd, Vogue, 20 Feb. 2025
  • The AirPods Max 2s take the most bare-bones approach.
    — Christian De Looper, PC Magazine, 18 Apr. 2026
  • Today the timbers of the ship are stored in a bare-bones warehouse in an industrial park.
    — William Booth, Washington Post, 11 June 2023
  • The bare-bones account of unfolding horror.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 June 2026
  • There are, of course, many more options for buyers who aren't inclined to stick to the bare-bones off-roader setup.
    — Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 18 May 2023
  • The plan was bare-bones, but showed that a reboot was at least under consideration.
    — WIRED, 28 Sep. 2023
  • Martin called out the fact that the city provides only bare-bones information about each death.
    — Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 1 Apr. 2025
  • On the surface, the AirPods Max appear to be the most bare-bones.
    — PC Magazine, 15 May 2025

bare bones

2 of 2 plural noun
  • There is a place for bare bones hotel rooms — just not on this list.
    — Catherine Garcia, theweek, 7 Nov. 2024
  • First, strip down the Blueprint to bare bones and start over.
    — Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 3 Dec. 2024
  • Like those big booming punts and the bare bones punt return room?
    — Jeff Sentell, ajc, 19 Sep. 2017
  • Students who want more than the bare bones are looking at their options.
    — Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 29 Apr. 2020
  • Other than a glamorous past, what was the allure of those bare bones?
    — Douglas Brenner, House Beautiful, 9 Dec. 2013
  • This bare bones edition is certainly fine and will get you through many a meal.
    — Shilpa Uskokovic, Bon Appétit, 28 June 2022
  • His denim-on-denim look the day before was just as bare bones, and just as good.
    — Megan Gustashaw, GQ, 2 Oct. 2017
  • The inside is stripped down to its bare bones while the space is being prepped to repaint.
    — Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2026
  • Hardy found that these bare bones were enough to get all that familiar quantum stuff back again.
    — Quanta Magazine, 30 Aug. 2017
  • For now, though, the bare bones approach has proved durable enough through the pandemic.
    — Ian McNulty, NOLA.com, 17 Nov. 2020
  • Thanks to some clever knife skills, all the meat on the wing is pushed to the top, leaving one end with just bare bone.
    — Nick Kindelsperger, chicagotribune.com, 22 Mar. 2018
  • The upper bunk is bare bones with no windows and a strap so that no one falls out when the train lurches.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 1 Sep. 2021
  • The rest of the game is obvious, because tennis is as bare bones as sports come.
    — Kevin Nguyen, GQ, 26 June 2018
  • Suddenly, a position with scant depth was down to its bare bones.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2022
  • Don’t be afraid of going with a bare bones no-annual-fee rewards card.
    — Jason Stauffer, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Maybe the barest bones of such preparation are beginning to emerge.
    — Tim Lister, CNN, 15 Apr. 2018
  • As to the budget being bare bones and reflecting their needs, that, too, is just not true.
    — For Carroll County Times, Baltimore Sun, 21 Apr. 2024
  • The task has not been easy from the start, as bare bones and outdated information leads to dead ends.
    — Kristina Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Oct. 2020
  • Mostly bare bones, with minimal clutter and rider aids – how dirt bikes should be.
    — New Atlas, 20 Jan. 2026
  • The two men traded a few ideas, and Harjo wrote up some notes, just the bare bones of a concept for a show.
    — David Treuer, The Atlantic, 1 Aug. 2022
  • There are countless variations to be discovered among the bare bones of this kind of story.
    — Michael Phillips, chicagotribune.com, 1 Feb. 2022
  • So what are like the bare bones of a traditional Hindu wedding?
    — Quartz Staff, Quartz, 21 Feb. 2022
  • For those of you who have not read my work here, here are the bare bones of my position player evaluation method.
    — Tony Blengino, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2022
  • And yet, even at the most bare bones airport café, your average everyday cheese is often nowhere in sight.
    — Claudia McNeilly, Vogue, 14 Jan. 2018
  • For those who want the bare bones, several brands offer watches that track distance, time and sometimes heart rate.
    — CNN Underscored, 1 Nov. 2017
  • This initial funding enabled them to hire a bare bones team to gather the data needed to sway investors.
    — Isabella Backman, Hartford Courant, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Auditors in many countries are already required to add flesh to the bare bones of the audit opinion.
    — The Economist, 24 May 2018
  • But Amazon runs on a logistics system that’s based off working people to the bare bones.
    — Chavie Lieber, Vox, 20 Nov. 2018
  • All spaces were taken down to the bare bones during the project, which started in the spring of 2018.
    — Jesse Leavenworth, courant.com, 26 Aug. 2019
  • This 'bare bones' kit comes with a basic saw for precision cutting and a scoop to remove all the gooey pumpkin innards.
    — Madison Durham, USA TODAY, 16 Oct. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bare-bones.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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