Word.ws English Dictionary

skulls and crossbones

skulls and crossbones is the plural of skull and crossbones.

Meaning of skull and crossbones

Noun

skull and crossbones (plural skull and crossbones or skulls and crossbones)

  1. 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.
    • 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.1832 February, “A Tale of Galway, Ireland”, in Louis Antoine Godey, editor, The Lady’s Book: A Monthly Magazine of Belles-lettres and the Arts. […], Philadelphia, Pa.: L[ouis] A[ntoine] Godey & Co....

Forms of skulls and crossbones

alternative formskulls-and-crossbones

Questions about skulls and crossbones

What is skulls and crossbones the plural of?
Skulls and crossbones is the plural of skull and crossbones.

Words near skulls and crossbones in the dictionary

  1. skulling
  2. skullings
  3. skullish
  4. skulllike
  5. skulls
  6. skulls and crossbones
  7. skulls-and-crossbones
  8. skullscape
  9. skullscapes
  10. skully
  11. skulpin

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: skulls and crossbones (page history and authors); skull and crossbones (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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Cite this entry: “skulls and crossbones.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/skulls_and_crossbones. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.