spinal cord

American  

noun

• spinal cords
  plural

1. the cord of nerve tissue extending through the spinal canal of the spinal column.

---

spinal cord British  

noun

1. the thick cord of nerve tissue within the spinal canal, which in man gives rise to 31 pairs of spinal nerves, and together with the brain forms the central nervous system

---

spinal cord Scientific  

1. The long, cordlike part of the central nervous system that is enclosed within the vertebral column (spine) and descends from the base of the brain, with which it is continuous. The spinal cord branches to form the nerves that convey motor and sensory impulses to and from the tissues of the body.

---

spinal cord Cultural  

1. The thick column of nerve tissue that extends from the base of the brain about two thirds of the way down the backbone. As part of the central nervous system, the spinal cord carries impulses back and forth between the brain and other parts of the body through a network of nerves that extend out from it like branches.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• spinal cords
  plural

Etymology

Origin of spinal cord

First recorded in 1830–40

Compare meaning

How does spinal-cord compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• spinal cord vs. spinal column

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spinal cord

Before her death Lomas raised £925,000 for the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation, external - a charity committed to funding research into curing spinal cord injury.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

The team also identified proteins in mice that carry itch signals from the hairs to the spinal cord through these neurons.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

The spinal cord contains "gating" circuits that normally suppress mechanical itch signals, allowing them to pass through only under specific conditions.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

In total, about 160 small slices of Donnie's brain and spinal cord were kept in the archives of the Munich research centre - later renamed the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry - ever since.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

The stalk is your brain stem, which plugs into your spinal cord.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman