chordate

American  

[kawr-deyt] / ˈkɔr deɪt /

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the phylum Chordata, comprising animals having a notochord, as the lancelets and tunicates, as well as all the true vertebrates, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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noun

1. a chordate animal.

chordate British  

/ ˈkɔːˌdeɪt /

noun

1. any animal of the phylum Chordata, including the vertebrates and protochordates, characterized by a notochord, dorsal tubular nerve cord, and pharyngeal gill slits

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Chordata

chordate Scientific  

/ kôr′dāt′ /

1. Any of a large group of animals of the phylum Chordata, having at some stage of development a notochord (flexible spinal column) and nerve cord running along the back, a tail stretching above and behind the anus, and gill slits. Chordates probably evolved before the Cambrian Period and are related to the hemichordates, echinoderms, and chaetognaths. The vertebrates, tunicates, and cephalochordates are the three main groups of chordates.

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Etymology

Origin of chordate

First recorded in 1885–90; Chordata

Example Sentences

The lancelet is a chordate, fish-like filter feeder that buries itself in marine sands.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

One chordate fossil of a worm from the Cambrian Period included paired muscles arranged in a series, similar to those of modern chordates.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2018

The chordates are named for the notochord, which is a flexible, rod-shaped structure that is found in the embryonic stage of all chordates and in the adult stage of some chordate species.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

The nerve cord found in most chordate embryos develops into the brain and spinal cord, which compose the central nervous system.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

Tunicā′ta, a class of remarkable animals, many of which are popularly known as Ascidians or sea-squirts—now regarded as occupying a lowly place among vertebrate or chordate animals.—adjs.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various