vertebra

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++

Related topics: Biology

ver·te·bra /ˈvɜːtəbrə $ ˈvɜːr-/ noun (plural vertebrae /-briː, -breɪ/) [countable] HBone of the small hollow bones down the centre of your back 椎骨 —vertebral adjective [only before noun]

Examples from the Corpus

vertebra• I liked biology a lot more amoebas and vertebrae.• In the summer of 1988 paleontologists in western Colorado uncovered the 135-million-year-old pelvis and vertebrae of Supersaurus.• He crumpled to the ice with a shattered fourth cervical vertebra, his body paralyzed from the neck down.• But he suffered two fractured vertebrae in his neck and a broken lower back in a crash during practice two weeks ago.• He danced around the area, shaking an Ascon, a gourd filled with snake vertebrae.• Backs include the pelvic bones and all the vertebrae posterior to the shoulder joint.• She was unaware that anyone had approached until she felt a touch on one of the vertebra of her spine.• The vertebrae of the vertebral column are tightly interlocked, creating a rigid foundation for the tail muscles.Origin vertebra (1600-1700) Latin “joint, vertebra”, from vertere; → VERSE