vertebra

American  

[vur-tuh-bruh] / ˈvɜr tə brə /

noun

Anatomy, Zoology.

• vertebrae,
  plural
• vertebras
  plural

1. any of the bones or segments composing the spinal column, consisting typically of a cylindrical body and an arch with various processes, and forming a foramen, or opening, through which the spinal cord passes.

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vertebra British  

/ ˈvɜːtɪbrə /

noun

1. one of the bony segments of the spinal column

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vertebra Scientific  

/ vûr′tə-brə /

• vertebrae
  plural

1. Any of the bones that make up the vertebral column. Each vertebra contains an arched, hollow section through which the spinal cord passes. In humans, the vertebrae are divided into cervical, thoracic, and lumbar sections, and the sacrum and coccyx are both made up of a series of fused vertebrae. The vertebrae are separated by cartilaginous intervertebral disks.

2. See more at skeleton

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• vertebral
  adjective
• vertebrally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vertebrae
  plural
• vertebras
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vertebra

1570–80; < Latin: (spinal) joint, equivalent to verte ( re ) to turn ( see verse) + -bra noun suffix

Explanation

A vertebra is one of the little bones in your spinal column; there are vertebrae up and down your back. Your whole body is full of bones, and one of those types of bones are vertebrae: the bones in your back. These bones are very important because they protect your spinal column, which allows your brain to communicate with the rest of your body. A serious back injury could damage a vertebra, resulting in pain or spinal damage. If you bend over and then straighten up slowly, you can feel yourself rising one vertebra at a time.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vertebra vertebrae vertebras

One concern is the risk of a compression fracture, which is when a vertebra collapses, usually as a result of osteoporosis, according to Banner Health’s Fisher.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Their analysis showed that the fossils consisted of an anterior trunk vertebra, a mid trunk vertebra, and a sacro-caudal vertebra.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

However, the fossil that led to the discovery of the new species was a recovered dorsal vertebra — a bone from the middle or upper back — which showed distinctive characteristics.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

McKellen suffered a chipped vertebra and fractured wrist, but he says the doctors didn’t find anything else wrong with him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026

My chin tilts up, my shoulders roll back, a vertebra pops in my spine as my posture straightens.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

Losing weight, whether through diet and exercise or taking a GLP-1 medication, reduces the pressure on spinal discs and vertebrae and the hinge of the knee.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

When Fiona Gill was struck by a van she was left with a shattered pelvis, two broken vertebrae and a broken leg.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

For his part, the unnamed 17-year-old said in a since-deleted social media post that he suffered six fractured vertebrae and a badly bruised tailbone and needed nine stitches in his foot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

The scans revealed features of the skull, vertebrae, and brain endocast that would have been difficult to study from the exposed bones alone.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

I managed to gaff some of the shark’s remains, but to my disap­pointment the vertebrae of sharks do not hold fluid.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Is it his many coloured soul that "magnetises our poor vertebras," in Verlaine's phrase, and not the mere skill of his fingers?

From Plays, Acting and Music A Book Of Theory by Arthur Symons

The fish is called a Vertebrate animal, because it has a backbone, made up of numbers of separate bones called vertebras.

From Twilight and Dawn Simple Talks on the Six Days of Creation by Caroline Pridham

Its peculiar characteristic is its extraordinary fragility— arising from the muscles being articulated quite through the vertebras.

From The Western World Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North and South America by William Henry Giles Kingston

A little aft of “midships” a pyramidal lump of fatty substance projected several feet above the line of the vertebras.

From The Ocean Waifs A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea by Mayne Reid

These vertebras are piled up one upon the other; for God has made our bodies upright; our faces, are lifted upwards, and our eyes look straight before us.

From Twilight and Dawn Simple Talks on the Six Days of Creation by Caroline Pridham