Vertebrate

//ˈvɛɹ.tɪ.bɹeɪt// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
An animal having a backbone: one belonging to the subphylum Vertebrata.
"Under the white chalk, drawn on the blackboard / Under the x-ray, I'm just a vertebrate"
2
animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium wordnet

Adjective

1
Having a backbone. not-comparable
2
Of, being, or pertaining to Vertebrata, animals with backbones. not-comparable

Adjective

1
having a backbone or spinal column wordnet

Synonyms

amphibian aquatic backboned biped canine cannibal

Antonyms

spineless evertebrate invertebrate

Example

"Like a typical vertebrate the human has two pairs of limbs."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Adapted borrowing of French vertébré, from Latin vertebrātus (“jointed”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more).

Etymology 2

From the substantivization of the above adjective through the associated taxon's name (Vertebrata) (see -ate (noun-forming suffix) for more).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.