vertebra
noun
Simple meaning
Any of the bony or cartilaginous segments which make up the backbone.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
vurtuhbruhSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈvɝtəbɹə
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
anatomy
Any of the bony or cartilaginous segments which make up the backbone, consisting in some lower vertebrates of several distinct elements which never become united, and in higher vertebrates having a short more or less cylindrical body whose ends articulate by pads of elastic or cartilaginous tissue with those of adjacent vertebrae and a bony arch that encloses the spinal cord.
anatomy
One of the bony segments of the spinal column
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
One of 4 vertebrae in the human coccyx.
One of 7 vertebrae in the human spine located in the neck region.
One of 4 vertebrae in the human coccyx.
One of 12 vertebrae in the human vertebral column.
One of 5 vertebrae in the human vertebral column.
One of 5 vertebrae in the human spine that fuse in the adult to form the sacrum.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A vein that accompanies the vertebral vein but passes through the foramen of the transverse process of the 7th cervical vertebra and empties into the brachiocephalic vein.
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