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.
See Examples For:
After three years the invertebrate population of that area was still 90% lower.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
Scientists have long wondered how these invertebrate eyes continue growing during adulthood.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 2, 2025
Typically, a spooked tarantula will try to run and hide, said Lisa Gonzalez, program manager of invertebrate living collections at the county Natural History Museum.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2025
The parasitic fungus species belongs to a group that infects their invertebrate hosts and takes control before killing them as part of their spore-spreading mechanisms.
From BBC ● May 18, 2025
The invertebrate eye was invented into an optical instrument at the MBL, opening the way to modern visual physiology.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
"We have seen an explosion in terms of the invertebrates that are coming here," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
"Being an angler for such a long time I knew a bit about the invertebrates, but this training has taken my knowledge to a new level."
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
"Right away, I knew it was something really special," says Voight, curator emerita of invertebrates at the Field Museum in Chicago and the lead author of the study describing the new species.
From Science Daily ● May 25, 2026
"We have created here, working with Plumpton College, a living classroom for students studying invertebrates of the tropical world," Matt said.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
Offshore, an unfinished break wall was home to kelp beds and invertebrates.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
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.
