Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

backbone

[bak-bohn] / ˈbækˌboʊn /


NOUN
spinal column of vertebrate
Synonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

He also floated free public transportation on weekends, seeking to reconnect with poorer voters who had long formed the backbone of his support.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

It is "a backbone of the web", according to security firm Wiz Research, which says it used AI to find vulnerabilities hidden in PHP for more than a decade.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

The researchers examined 27 fossilized vertebrae, the individual bones that make up a snake's backbone.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

While the rising cost of diesel directly hits drivers, there's a wider concern because of its use in the lorries, vans and ships that form the backbone of global supply chains.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Her look sat with a backbone inside it.

From "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles

The chart shows strongly performing security and infrastructure, which provides “critical data backbones, compute pipelines and complex protection systems that generative models actively expand rather than displace.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

Tanyka belongs to a broad group of vertebrates known as tetrapods, which includes all four-limbed animals with backbones such as reptiles, birds, mammals, and amphibians.

From Science Daily ● May 1, 2026

For decades, palaeontologists believed that the largest ocean predators were vertebrates with backbones such as fish and reptiles while invertebrates like octopuses and squid played supporting roles.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026

Animals without a backbones evolved first, around 700 million years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Turner sat on the stool, and he heard her settle backbones creaking and snapping.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt


Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training