as in spine
a column of bones supporting the trunk of a vertebrate animal
a diagram of the spinal column
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Recent Examples of spinal column
Since moving around on land did not require a stiff spinal column, early terrestrial vertebrates evolved flexibility just behind the head, enabling them to widely scan the environment and to direct their mouths toward prey without moving their whole bodies.
—
Kent Dunlap, The Conversation, 10 Feb. 2025
Their work, published in Science Robotics, introduces a novel control approach that combines the natural coordination patterns of our fingers with the decoding of motoneuron activity in the spinal column.
—Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 1 Mar. 2025
The theory, laid out in a study published February 27 in the journal Scientific Reports, is based on examinations of tiny shards found in 2020 inside the skull and spinal column of an individual at Herculaneum–a small port town with a population of around 5,000 people at the time.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Feb. 2025
The only tethers holding his head to his body were his neck muscles and spinal column, which came under enormous stress.
—Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spinal column
Kent Dunlap, The Conversation, 10 Feb. 2025
Their work, published in Science Robotics, introduces a novel control approach that combines the natural coordination patterns of our fingers with the decoding of motoneuron activity in the spinal column.
—Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 1 Mar. 2025
The theory, laid out in a study published February 27 in the journal Scientific Reports, is based on examinations of tiny shards found in 2020 inside the skull and spinal column of an individual at Herculaneum–a small port town with a population of around 5,000 people at the time.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Feb. 2025
The only tethers holding his head to his body were his neck muscles and spinal column, which came under enormous stress.
—Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spinal column
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spinal column
Noun
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Merely the thought of any potential Chinese aggression in Taiwan sends shivers down the spines of industry, market, and government officials, and an outright attack would put the worldwide economy in a tailspin.—
Karl Freund,
Forbes.com,
29 Apr. 2025
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The parade of extreme power and wealth in this dire global climate of recent years is usually the knife in my spine, but this year’s theme ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’ gently twists it, quietly extracting the rebellious roots of the Black dandy for mainstream consumption.—
Akilah Sailers,
Essence,
28 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The vertebral column comprises individual vertebral bones with spinal discs between each bone.—
Jennifer Steinhoff,
Verywell Health,
13 Mar. 2025
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Shimada’s team used incomplete fossils of the megalodon’s vertebral column and compared them to the bodies of 165 other living and extinct shark species to extrapolate the animal’s size.—
Sara Hashemi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
11 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spinal column.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spinal%20column. Accessed 12 May. 2025.
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