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

• vertebrally
  adverb
• vertebral
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• vertebras
  plural
• vertebrae
  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

Her mineralized vertebra of a juvenile Jurassic ichthyosaur exudes: “Now I am a treasure for you to love—a part of me to call your own.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

"I've been rehabbing a complicated compound fracture in my wrist and a fractured L1 vertebra in my spine," Brockhoff said on Instagram.

From Barron's • Jan. 16, 2026

Martin, the owner of Surfbreak, a co-living community near Honolulu’s Ala Moana Beach Park in Hawaii, told the Honolulu Civil Beat that Mangione suffered from a misaligned vertebra that would pinch his spinal cord.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2024

The team then weighed in on a new comparison of Megalodon vertebra fossils to those of living lamniform shark relatives.

From Science Daily • Jan. 21, 2024

He enlists the aid of the sacred ota stone, as well as the shrunken head of a doll, a ball of powdered eggshell, and the eggun, a vertebra from the spine of a goat.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García