Meanings
vertebrate1
- not comparableOf, being, or pertaining to Vertebrata, animals with backbones.
vertebrate2
plural vertebrates
- An animal having a backbone: one belonging to the subphylum Vertebrata.
Under the white chalk, drawn on the blackboard / Under the x-ray, I'm just a vertebrate
2005, “Corporeal”, in Tender Buttons, performed by BroadcastSynonyms: craniate · Antonyms: invertebrate
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn animal having a backbone: one belonging to the subphylum Vertebrata.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivehaving a backbone or spinal column
nounanimals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
vertebrate · adjective
- Latinvertebrātus“jointed”
- Englishvertebrate
Adapted borrowing of French vertébré, from Latin vertebrātus (“jointed”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →vertebrate · noun
From the substantivization of the above adjective through the associated taxon's name (Vertebrata) (see -ate (noun-forming suffix) for more).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic فَقَارِيّ, فَقَارِيَّة
- فَقَارِيّ (faqāriyy)having a backbone
- فَقَارِيَّة (faqāriyya)having a backbone
- فَقَارِيّ (faqāriyy)an animal having a backbone
- فَقَارِيَّة (faqāriyya)an animal having a backbone
Basque ornodun, ornodun
- ornodunhaving a backbone
- ornodunan animal having a backbone
Bulgarian гръбна́чен, гръбна́чно
- гръбна́чен (grăbnáčen)having a backbone
- гръбна́чно (grăbnáčno)an animal having a backbone
Catalan vertebrat, vertebrat
- vertebrathaving a backbone
- vertebratan animal having a backbone
Chinese Cantonese 脊椎動物 /脊椎动物
- 脊椎動物 /脊椎动物 (zek³ zeoi¹ dung⁶ mat⁶)an animal having a backbone
Chinese Mandarin 椎骨的, 脊椎動物 /脊椎动物
- 椎骨的 (zhuīgǔ de)having a backbone
- 脊椎動物 /脊椎动物 (jǐzhuī dòngwù)an animal having a backbone
Czech obratlovec
- obratlovecan animal having a backbone
Danish hvirveldyr, hvirveldyr
- hvirveldyrhaving a backbone
- hvirveldyran animal having a backbone
Dutch gewerveld, gewervelde
- gewerveldhaving a backbone
- gewerveldean animal having a backbone
- werveldieran animal having a backbone
- vertebraatan animal having a backbone
Esperanto vertebrulo
- vertebruloan animal having a backbone
Finnish selkärankainen, selkärankainen
- selkärankainenhaving a backbone
- selkärankainenan animal having a backbone
French vertébré, vertébré
- vertébréhaving a backbone
- vertébréan animal having a backbone
German Wirbeltier, Vertebrat
- Wirbeltieran animal having a backbone
- Vertebratan animal having a backbone
Greek σπονδυλωτός, σπονδυλωτό
- σπονδυλωτός (spondylotós)having a backbone
- σπονδυλωτό (spondylotó)an animal having a backbone
Hebrew חֻלְיְתָן \ חולייתן
- חֻלְיְתָן \ חולייתן (khulyetán)an animal having a backbone
Hindi कशेरुकी जीव
- कशेरुकी जीव (kaśerukī jīv)an animal having a backbone
Hungarian gerinces, gerinces
- gerinceshaving a backbone
- gerincesan animal having a backbone
Icelandic hryggleysingjar
- hryggleysingjaran animal having a backbone
Indonesian bertulang belakang, vertebrata
- bertulang belakanghaving a backbone
- vertebratahaving a backbone
- vertebrataan animal having a backbone
- hewan vertebrataan animal having a backbone
- hewan bertulang belakangan animal having a backbone
Irish veirteabrach, veirteabrach
- veirteabrachhaving a backbone
- veirteabrachan animal having a backbone
Italian vertebrato, vertebrato
- vertebratohaving a backbone
- vertebratoan animal having a backbone
Japanese 脊椎, 脊椎動物
- 脊椎 (sekitsui)having a backbone
- 脊椎動物 (sekitsui dōbutsu)an animal having a backbone
Korean 척추, 척추동물
- 척추 (cheokchu)having a backbone
- 척추동물 (cheokchudongmul)an animal having a backbone
Latin vertebrātus
- vertebrātushaving a backbone
Latvian mugurkaulnieks
- mugurkaulnieksan animal having a backbone
Lithuanian stuburinis, stuburinis
- stuburinishaving a backbone
- stuburinisan animal having a backbone
Malay bertulang belakang, vertebrat
- bertulang belakanghaving a backbone
- vertebrathaving a backbone
- haiwan vertebratan animal having a backbone
- vertebratan animal having a backbone
Māori whaituaiwi, kararehe whaituaiwi
- whaituaiwihaving a backbone
- kararehe whaituaiwian animal having a backbone
Norwegian Bokmål virveldyr
- virveldyran animal having a backbone
Polish kręgowy, kręgowiec
- kręgowyhaving a backbone
- kręgowiecan animal having a backbone
Portuguese vertebrado, vertebrado
- vertebradohaving a backbone
- vertebradoan animal having a backbone
Romanian vertebrat, vertebrat
- vertebrathaving a backbone
- vertebratan animal having a backbone
Russian позвоно́чный, позвоно́чное
- позвоно́чный (pozvonóčnyj)having a backbone
- позвоно́чное (pozvonóčnoje)an animal having a backbone
Slovak stavovec
- stavovecan animal having a backbone
Spanish vertebrado, vertebrado
- vertebradohaving a backbone
- vertebradoan animal having a backbone
Swedish ryggradsdjur
- ryggradsdjuran animal having a backbone
Thai สัตว์มีกระดูกสันหลัง
- สัตว์มีกระดูกสันหลัง (sàt-mii-grà-dùuk-sǎn-lǎng)an animal having a backbone
Turkish omurgalı
- omurgalıan animal having a backbone
Ukrainian хребе́тний, хребе́тна твари́на
- хребе́тний (xrebétnyj)having a backbone
- хребе́тна твари́на (xrebétna tvarýna)an animal having a backbone
Vietnamese động vật có xương sống
- động vật có xương sốngan animal having a backbone
Welsh fertebrat
- fertebratan animal having a backbone
Cite this entry
vertebrate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vertebrate
“vertebrate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vertebrate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vertebrate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vertebrate.
Source: vertebrate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.