vertebrates
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Human beings are vertebrates.
The five traditional class es of vertebrates are amphibians, birds, fishes, mammals, and reptiles. (Compare invertebrates.)
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.
"It's a skill that previously has only been documented in vertebrates, such as in some mammals and some birds."
From Science Daily • Jun. 5, 2026
The new findings show that similar aging mechanisms also occur in more complex vertebrates like killifish and humans.
From Science Daily • May 29, 2026
The group includes research fellows, postdoctoral scientists, and more than 10 PhD students studying dinosaurs and other vertebrates such as crocodiles and birds.
From Science Daily • May 20, 2026
"But I would imagine at the source there coming down, there will be an effect on not just fish, but all aquatic insects and vertebrates and stuff."
From BBC • May 6, 2026
The body plans of vertebrates depend on this property: if hemoglobin’s capacity to deliver oxygen to distant sites was disrupted, our bodies would be forced to be small and cold.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
