From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishvertebraver‧te‧bra /ˈvɜːtəbrə $ ˈvɜːr-/ noun (plural vertebrae /-briː, -breɪ/) [countable] HBone of the small hollow bones down the centre of your back —vertebral adjective [only before noun]
Examples from the Corpus
vertebra• I liked biology a lot more amoebas and vertebrae.• In the summer of 1988 paleontologists in western Colorado uncovered the 135-million-year-old pelvis and vertebrae of Supersaurus.• He crumpled to the ice with a shattered fourth cervical vertebra, his body paralyzed from the neck down.• But he suffered two fractured vertebrae in his neck and a broken lower back in a crash during practice two weeks ago.• He danced around the area, shaking an Ascon, a gourd filled with snake vertebrae.• Backs include the pelvic bones and all the vertebrae posterior to the shoulder joint.• She was unaware that anyone had approached until she felt a touch on one of the vertebra of her spine.• The vertebrae of the vertebral column are tightly interlocked, creating a rigid foundation for the tail muscles.Origin vertebra (1600-1700) Latin “joint, vertebra”, from vertere; → VERSE 