invertebrate
Americanadjective
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Zoology.
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not vertebrate; without a backbone.
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of or relating to creatures without a backbone.
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without strength of character.
noun
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an invertebrate animal.
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a person who lacks strength of character.
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of invertebrate
From the New Latin word invertebrātus, dating back to 1820–30. See in- 3, vertebrate
Explanation
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. Invertebrate animals include fruit flies and sea sponges. Your backbone allows you to stand up straight, and it also allows you to be grouped with the other vertebrates: animals with backbones. Invertebrates are the opposite: they have no backbone. These are the two major groups of animals. Also, this word is used for people who are spineless in the sense of having no courage. You could say a coward acts in an invertebrate way. Whether it's a backbone-free animal or a courage-free person, all invertebrates lack spines.
Vocabulary lists containing invertebrate
Tyrannosaurus Lex(icon)
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Life Science: Organisms and Taxonomy
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Animals (Zoology) - Introductory
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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.
In total, she collectedabout 10 snails and brought them to the university’s Pelagic Invertebrate Collection to examine.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2025
The specimens now reside in Scripps' Benthic Invertebrate Collection and the Museo de Zoología at the Universidad de Costa Rica.
From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2024
“We’re thrilled that EPA is diving into this,” says Aimée Code, who heads the pesticide program at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
From Science Magazine • Oct. 31, 2023
Sriram Murali won the award for Invertebrate Behavior by combining lots of different images.
From NewsForKids.net • Oct. 12, 2023
Among his books are, “Evidences as to Man’s Place in Nature,” “Comparative Anatomy,” “Lay Sermons,” “Critiques and Addresses,” “Physiography,” “The Crayfish,” “Science and Culture,” “Evolution and Ethics,” “The Anatomy of Invertebrate Animals,” etc.
From A Book of Natural History Young Folks' Library Volume XIV. by Jordan, David Starr
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.
