vertebrate

[ vur-tuh-brit, -breyt ]

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

1. a vertebrate animal.

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

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the subphylum Vertebrata

vertebrate

/ vûr′tə-brĭt,-brāt′ /

1. 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.

Other Words From

• non·verte·brate adjective noun
• sub·verte·brate noun adjective
• un·verte·brate adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of vertebrate¹

First recorded in 1820–30, vertebrate is from the Latin word vertebrātus jointed. See vertebra, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Indigenous lands in Canada, Brazil and Australia had similar, or slightly higher, levels of vertebrate diversity than non-Indigenous protected areas in the same countries.

From Science News For Students

“I don´t know of papers that have reported on traps built by spiders specifically for capturing vertebrates.”

From Science News

Converting these largely natural habitats, collectively about the size of India, would squeeze more than 17,000 vertebrate species from some of their lands, researchers report December 21 in Nature Sustainability.

From Science News

The researchers analyzed 14,000 vertebrate populations across the world and found that previously accepted worldwide declines in wildlife could be attributed to a few outlier populations.

From Popular-Science

Additionally, the group of biologists from the Natural History Museum in London found that frogs have the biggest eyes of any vertebrate animal in relation to their body size.

From Popular-Science

Then in the Cambrian era, around 570 million years ago, recognizably complex animal life evolved, including vertebrate ancestors.

From The Daily Beast

Some 28 percent of the vertebrate species red-listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature live there.

From The Daily Beast

It's so typical of everything we've seen of this semi-vertebrate.

From The Daily Beast

Two other structures common to most of the vertebrate animals exist in man, though they render him little or no service.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a plantigrade circumflex vertebrate bacterium that hasnt any wings and is uncertain.

From Project Gutenberg

Plantigrade circumflex vertebrate bacterium that hasnt any wings and is uncertain.

From Project Gutenberg

The vertebrate animals deserve more of our attention than other forms of life because man himself is a vertebrate.

From Project Gutenberg

The illustration here given shows the effect of nicotine upon a fish, one of the vertebrate animals.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• beast
• creature
• pet