invertebrate
Zoology.
not vertebrate; without a backbone.
of or relating to creatures without a backbone.
without strength of character.
an invertebrate animal.
a person who lacks strength of character.
Origin of invertebrate
1Other words from invertebrate
- in·ver·te·bra·cy [in-vur-tuh-bruh-see], /ɪnˈvɜr tə brə si/, in·ver·te·brate·ness, noun
Words Nearby invertebrate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use invertebrate in a sentence
Most animals, even invertebrates like shrimp and lobsters, show signs of feeling pain, which would suggest they have some degree of subjective consciousness.
What would it be like to be a conscious AI? We might never know. | Will Douglas Heaven | August 25, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewMore than 80 years ago, the great Chicago chemist Harold Urey discovered the temperature of skeletons in many kinds of invertebrates, including the nautilus, can be determined with mass spectrometry.
The first step was determining if the robot would be modeled after a vertebrate—an animal with a backbone—or an invertebrate, like a squid or an octopus.
Chameleon-inspired robot skin changes colors instantly | Tatyana Woodall | August 10, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewThe field was still reluctant to admit that true sleep existed in invertebrates, and that human sleep could be usefully studied using flies, Shaw says.
Sleep Evolved Before Brains. Hydras Are Living Proof. | Veronique Greenwood | May 18, 2021 | Quanta MagazineThey have the largest brain to body mass ratio of known invertebrates, and have incredibly complex nervous systems.
You get brainwashed whenever you go to sleep (and that’s a good thing) | PopSci Staff | March 17, 2021 | Popular-Science
The invertebrate fauna of the British deposits is, as might be expected, very poor until the beds of the Rhtic series are reached.
The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology | J. E. MarrThe invertebrate fauna shows an approximation to that of the present day.
The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology | J. E. MarrThis is particularly observable between the vertebrate and invertebrate animals.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. III (of 4) | William KirbyValentine began, startled out of his invertebrate placidity by a sensationalist more original than himself.
Lady Lilith | Stephen McKennaThe eldest wrote from his dictation part of the sixth and seventh volumes of his work on the invertebrate animals.
Evolution, Old & New | Samuel Butler
British Dictionary definitions for invertebrate
/ (ɪnˈvɜːtɪbrɪt, -ˌbreɪt) /
any animal lacking a backbone, including all species not classified as vertebrates
of, relating to, or designating invertebrates
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for invertebrate
[ ĭn-vûr′tə-brĭt, -brāt′ ]
Having no backbone or spinal column.
An animal that has no backbone or spinal column and therefore does not belong to the subphylum Vertebrata of the phylum Chordata. Most animals are invertebrates. Corals, insects, worms, jellyfish, starfish, and snails are invertebrates.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse