Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Lacking a backbone or spinal column; not vertebrate.
- adjective Of or relating to invertebrates.
- noun An animal, such as an insect or mollusk, that lacks a backbone or spinal column.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Not vertebrate; having no backbone; specifically, of or pertaining to the Invertebrata. Also invertebral, invertebrated.
- Figuratively, flaccid, as if from lack of a backbone; wanting strength, firmness, or consistency; weak; nerveless.
- noun An invertebrated animal; any one of the Invertebrata.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective (Zoöl.) Destitute of a backbone; having no vertebræ; of or pertaining to the Invertebrata.
- adjective See
Age , andSilurian .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
animal withoutvertebrae , i.e.backbone . - adjective Lacking a backbone.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any animal lacking a backbone or notochord; the term is not used as a scientific classification
- adjective lacking a backbone or spinal column
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Nosema fungus that researchers had previously suspected, and a DNA-virus called invertebrate iridescent virus (IIV).
Ars Technica Casey Johnston 2010
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When the Army software, owned by DHS, was turned on the bee remains, it detected not only the fungus, but also a virus known as the invertebrate iridescent virus (IIV).
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Nosema fungus that researchers had previously suspected, and a DNA-virus called invertebrate iridescent virus (IIV).
Ars Technica Casey Johnston 2010
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We'll leave it up to France's budding etymologist to decide whether his maneuvering should be labeled "invertebrate" or "spineless."
Europe's Retreat 2008
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To use Bruce Fein's word, let's don't be "invertebrate" about it.
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Puget Sound is home to the world's largest octopus, the giant Pacific octopus, which is also the world's largest invertebrate, meaning it has no bones.
Latest Articles 2009
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Puget Sound is home to the world's largest octopus, the giant Pacific octopus, which is also the world's largest invertebrate, meaning it has no bones.
Latest Articles 2009
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Such ancient grassland might have 30 species of plant in a single square metre and innumerable invertebrate animals which have supported such remarkable birds as the stone curlew and many skylarks.
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The endemic fauna includes 115 indigenous, 24 introduced vertebrate, and 2,000 invertebrate species.
Galápagos National Park & Galápagos Marine Resources Reserve, Ecuador 2009
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All these defences have kept this specimen completely untouched by summer's relentless vegetarian armies, invertebrate and mammalian, that might otherwise want to take the plant's nutrients.
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