VERTEBRATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does vertebrate mean? 

• VERTEBRATE (noun)
  The noun VERTEBRATE has 1 sense:

1. animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium

  Familiarity information: VERTEBRATE used as a noun is very rare.

• VERTEBRATE (adjective)
  The adjective VERTEBRATE has 1 sense:

1. having a backbone or spinal column

  Familiarity information: VERTEBRATE used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VERTEBRATE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

craniate; vertebrate

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

chordate (any animal of the phylum Chordata having a notochord or spinal column)

Meronyms (parts of "vertebrate"):

belly (the underpart of the body of certain vertebrates such as snakes or fish)

dactyl; digit (a finger or toe in human beings or corresponding body part in other vertebrates)

pedal extremity; vertebrate foot (the extremity of the limb in vertebrates)

chest; pectus; thorax (the part of the human torso between the neck and the diaphragm or the corresponding part in other vertebrates)

costa; rib (any of the 12 pairs of curved arches of bone extending from the spine to or toward the sternum in humans (and similar bones in most vertebrates))

caudal appendage (tail especially of a mammal posterior to and above the anus)

tail (the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body)

Domain member category:

costa; rib (any of the 12 pairs of curved arches of bone extending from the spine to or toward the sternum in humans (and similar bones in most vertebrates))

blood (the fluid (red in vertebrates) that is pumped through the body by the heart and contains plasma, blood cells, and platelets)

ovary ((vertebrates) one of usually two organs that produce ova and secrete estrogen and progesterone)

endoskeleton (the internal skeleton; bony and cartilaginous structure (especially of vertebrates))

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

fetus; foetus (an unborn or unhatched vertebrate in the later stages of development showing the main recognizable features of the mature animal)

Amniota (higher vertebrates (reptiles, birds and mammals) possessing an amnion during development)

amniote (any member of the Amniota)

aquatic vertebrate (animal living wholly or chiefly in or on water)

gnathostome (a vertebrate animal possessing true jaws)

bird (warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings)

amphibian (cold-blooded vertebrate typically living on land but breeding in water; aquatic larvae undergo metamorphosis into adult form)

reptile; reptilian (any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia including tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards, alligators, crocodiles, and extinct forms)

mammal; mammalian (any warm-blooded vertebrate having the skin more or less covered with hair; young are born alive except for the small subclass of monotremes and nourished with milk)

tetrapod (a vertebrate animal having four feet or legs or leglike appendages)

Holonyms ("vertebrate" is a member of...):

Craniata; subphylum Craniata; subphylum Vertebrata; Vertebrata (fishes; amphibians; reptiles; birds; mammals)

Derivation:

vertebrate (having a backbone or spinal column)

• VERTEBRATE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Having a backbone or spinal column

Context example:

fishes and amphibians and reptiles and birds and mammals are verbetrate animals

Domain category:

zoological science; zoology (the branch of biology that studies animals)

Antonym:

invertebrate (lacking a backbone or spinal column)

Derivation:

vertebrate (animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium)

 Context examples 

They observed the von Ebner lines, patterns that form in vertebrate teeth as they grow, to determine how long the overall developmental process was taking.

(Slow-cooking dinosaur eggs may have contributed to extinction, Wikinews)

One of the two photoreceptor cell types in the vertebrate retina.

(Cone, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A genus of the family Coronaviridae which causes respiratory or gastrointestinal disease in a variety of vertebrates.

(Coronavirus, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

The team used a new tool they developed called VirCapSeq-VERT, which can detect any viral genetic material that is at least 60% like that of any known vertebrate virus.

(Enterovirus antibodies detected in acute flaccid myelitis patients, National Institutes of Health)

This gene is involved in intercellular signaling during vertebrate embryogenesis.

(CFC1 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

Astroviridae infect vertebrates and are a causative agent of gastroenteritis in humans.

(Astroviridae, NCI Thesaurus)

The part of the nervous system of vertebrates that controls involuntary actions of the smooth muscles and heart and glands.

(Autonomic nervous system, NCI Thesaurus)

Family of cell surface glycoproteins, first identified in vertebrates, that mediate calcium dependent, homophilic cell adhesion and thereby control tissue morphogenesis.

(Cadherin, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)

An endogenous amino acid derivative produced by vertebrate animals and occurring primarily in muscle cells.

(Creatine, NCI Thesaurus)

These proteins play key roles in intercellular signaling pathways during vertebrate embryogenesis.

(CRYPTIC Protein, NCI Thesaurus/LocusLink)