vertebrate

[vur-tuh-brit, -breyt] /ˈvɜr tə brɪt, -ˌbreɪt/
adjective
1.
having vertebrae; having a backbone or spinal column.
2.
belonging or pertaining to the Vertebrata (or Craniata), a subphylum of chordate animals, comprising those having a brain enclosed in a skull or cranium and a segmented spinal column; a major taxonomic group that includes mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes.
noun
3.
a vertebrate animal.
Origin
1820-30; < Latin vertebrātus jointed. See vertebra, -ate1
Related forms
nonvertebrate, adjective, noun
subvertebrate, noun, adjective
unvertebrate, adjective
Examples from the web for vertebrates
  • Ostriches primarily eat vegetable matter, but they are omnivores that will snap up insects and small vertebrates alike.
  • Indeed, the project's main aim is to explain how vertebrates use perception to guide their movements.
  • The species that are being lost rapidly are the large vertebrates that conservationists were worried about in the first place.
  • In vertebrates this protein is found in retinal cells, where it transduces the energy of light into a nerve signal to the brain.
  • We need a third party to rise up and rescue the reasonable, realistic vertebrates from the two big disfunctional parties.
  • Other ibis mummy snacks identified in the new study include cereal grains and small vertebrates such as fish.
  • The sacrum is the bony structure that connects the spine to the hips in vertebrates, including humans.
  • Only a few animals have been shown to possess true navigation-and all but the lobster are vertebrates.
  • One fifth of the world's vertebrates are threatened with extinction.
  • Lancelets and vertebrates share a similar anatomy, but a lancelet is not a vertebrate quite yet.
British Dictionary definitions for vertebrates

vertebrate

/ˈvɜːtɪˌbreɪt; -brɪt/
noun
1.
any chordate animal of the subphylum Vertebrata, characterized by a bony or cartilaginous skeleton and a well-developed brain: the group contains fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals
adjective
2.
of, relating to, or belonging to the subphylum Vertebrata
Word Origin and History for vertebrates

vertebrate

n.

1826, from Latin vertebratus (Pliny), from vertebra "joint or articulation of the body, joint of the spine" (see vertebra).

vertebrates in Medicine

vertebrate ver·te·brate (vûr'tə-brĭt, -brāt')
adj.

  1. Having a spinal column.

  2. Of or characteristic a vertebrate.

n.
A member of the subphylum Vertebrata.
vertebrates in Science
vertebrate
  (vûr'tə-brĭt, -brāt')   
Any of a large group of chordates of the subphylum Vertebrata (or Craniata), characterized by having a backbone. Vertebrates are bilaterally symmetrical and have an internal skeleton of bone or cartilage, a nervous system divided into brain and spinal cord, and not more than two pairs of limbs. Vertebrates have a well-developed body cavity (called a coelom) containing a chambered heart, large digestive organs, liver, pancreas, and paired kidneys, and their blood contains both red and white corpuscles. Vertebrates include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
vertebrates in Culture
vertebrates [(vur-tuh-bruhts, vur-tuh-brayts)]

Animals that have a spinal cord enclosed in a backbone.

Note: The five traditional classes of vertebrates are amphibians, birds, fishes, mammals, and reptiles. (Compare invertebrates.)
Note: Human beings are vertebrates.