Word.ws English Dictionary

skeleton in one's closet

skeleton in one's closet is the alternative form of skeleton in the closet.

Meaning of skeleton in the closet

Noun

skeleton in the closet (plural skeletons in the closet or skeletons in the closets)

  1. (US, idiomatic) A shameful secret.
    • "Humph!" she vouchsafed. Then, showing her old-time interest, she went on: "But, say, it is queer, his speakin' to you, honestly, Miss Pollyanna. He don't speak ter no one; and he lives all alone in a great big lovely house all full of jest grand things, they say. Some says he's crazy, and some...1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 9, in Pollyanna, L.C. Page, →OCLC

Forms of skeleton in one's closet

pluralskeletons in one's closet
pluralskeletons in one's closets

Questions about skeleton in one's closet

What is skeleton in one's closet the alternative form of?
Skeleton in one's closet is the alternative form of skeleton in the closet.

Words near skeleton in one's closet in the dictionary

  1. skeleton crew
  2. skeleton crews
  3. skeleton flower
  4. skeleton grip
  5. skeleton grips
  6. skeleton in one's closet
  7. skeleton in one's cupboard
  8. skeleton in one's house
  9. skeleton in the closet
  10. skeleton in the cupboard
  11. skeleton in the house

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: skeleton in one's closet (page history and authors); skeleton in the closet (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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