SPINE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does spine mean? 

• SPINE (noun)
  The noun SPINE has 5 senses:

1. the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord

2. any sharply pointed projection

3. a small sharp-pointed tip resembling a spike on a stem or leaf

4. the part of a book's cover that encloses the inner side of the book's pages and that faces outward when the book is shelved

5. a sharp rigid animal process or appendage; as a porcupine quill or a ridge on a bone or a ray of a fish fin

  Familiarity information: SPINE used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPINE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

back; backbone; rachis; spinal column; spine; vertebral column

Context example:

the fall broke his back

Hypernyms ("spine" is a kind of...):

skeletal structure (any structure created by the skeleton of an organism)

Meronyms (parts of "spine"):

canalis vertebralis; spinal canal; vertebral canal (the canal in successive vertebrae through which the spinal cord passes)

coccyx; tail bone (the end of the vertebral column in humans and tailless apes)

vertebra (one of the bony segments of the spinal column)

intervertebral disc; intervertebral disk (a fibrocartilaginous disc serving as a cushion between all of the vertebrae of the spinal column (except between the first two))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "spine"):

notochord (a flexible rodlike structure that forms the supporting axis of the body in the lowest chordates and lowest vertebrates and in embryos of higher vertebrates)

chine (backbone of an animal)

Holonyms ("spine" is a part of...):

axial skeleton (the part of the skeleton that includes the skull and spinal column and sternum and ribs)

Derivation:

spinal (of or relating to the spine or spinal cord)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any sharply pointed projection

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Synonyms:

acantha; spine; spur

Hypernyms ("spine" is a kind of...):

projection (any solid convex shape that juts out from something)

Derivation:

spinous (shaped like a spine or thorn)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A small sharp-pointed tip resembling a spike on a stem or leaf

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

pricker; prickle; spikelet; spine; sticker; thorn

Hypernyms ("spine" is a kind of...):

aculeus (a stiff sharp-pointed plant process)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "spine"):

glochid; glochidium (a barbed spine or bristle (often tufted on cacti))

Derivation:

spinous (shaped like a spine or thorn)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The part of a book's cover that encloses the inner side of the book's pages and that faces outward when the book is shelved

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

backbone; spine

Context example:

the title and author were printed on the spine of the book

Hypernyms ("spine" is a kind of...):

part; portion (something less than the whole of a human artifact)

Holonyms ("spine" is a part of...):

book; volume (physical objects consisting of a number of pages bound together)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A sharp rigid animal process or appendage; as a porcupine quill or a ridge on a bone or a ray of a fish fin

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("spine" is a kind of...):

appendage; outgrowth; process (a natural prolongation or projection from a part of an organism either animal or plant)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "spine"):

ray (any of the stiff bony spines in the fin of a fish)

quill (a stiff hollow protective spine on a porcupine or hedgehog)

Derivation:

spinal (of or relating to the spine or spinal cord)

spinous (shaped like a spine or thorn)

 Context examples 

Four vertebral segments positioned at the base of the spine that are fused.

(Coccygeal Vertebra, NCI Thesaurus)

The small bone at the bottom of the spine.

(Coccyx, NCI Dictionary)

A small bone located at the bottom of the spine.

(Coccyx, NCI Thesaurus)

A disorder characterized by a decrease in flexibility of a cervical spine joint.

(Cervical Spine Joint Range of Motion Decreased, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)

Decreased flexibility of a cervical spine joint.

(Cervical Spine Joint Range of Motion Decreased, NCI Thesaurus)

The final step in building the mammal backbone may be linked with changes in Hox genes, important to spine regions early in their development.

(What makes a mammal a mammal? Our spine, say scientists, National Science Foundation)

Patients present with stiffness and pain in the spine.

(Ankylosing Spondylitis, NCI Thesaurus)

Femur, spine, and the pelvic bones are the most commonly affected sites.

(Bone Lymphoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Gastrointestinal symptoms and trouble with the spine or bones in the feet and thighs may also occur.

(MEN2B, NCI Dictionary)

The spread of the cancer to the spine.

(Metastatic Malignant Neoplasm to the Spine, NCI Thesaurus)