Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for invertebrate. Search instead for jawless+vertebrate.
Synonyms

invertebrate

American  
[in-vur-tuh-brit, -breyt] / ɪnˈvɜr tə brɪt, -ˌbreɪt /

adjective

  1. Zoology.

    1. not vertebrate; without a backbone.

    2. of or relating to creatures without a backbone.

  2. without strength of character.

noun

  1. an invertebrate animal.

  2. a person who lacks strength of character.

invertebrate British  
/ -ˌbreɪt, ɪnˈvɜːtɪbrɪt /

noun

  1. any animal lacking a backbone, including all species not classified as vertebrates

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or designating invertebrates

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
invertebrate Scientific  
/ ĭn-vûr′tə-brĭt,-brāt′ /

  1. Having no backbone or spinal column.

  1. An animal that has no backbone or spinal column and therefore does not belong to the subphylum Vertebrata of the phylum Chordata. Most animals are invertebrates. Corals, insects, worms, jellyfish, starfish, and snails are invertebrates.

Other Word Forms

  • invertebracy noun
  • invertebrateness noun

Etymology

Origin of invertebrate

From the New Latin word invertebrātus, dating back to 1820–30. See in- 3, vertebrate

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.