: any of a phylum (Chordata) of animals having at least at some stage of development a notochord, dorsally situated central nervous system, and gill slits and including the vertebrates, lancelets, and tunicates
chordate
adjective
Examples of chordate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For example, arthropods, mollusks, and chordates appeared during this period.
—
Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024
But experts were uncertain about where exactly Pikaia belonged on the chordate family tree.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 24 June 2024
There are only two chordate groups that are not vertebrates—tunicates and cephalochordates.
—Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 16 July 2023
Until now, the glow in other chordate animals had been explained by their diet or from a symbiotic relationship with glowing bacteria.
—Popular Science, 22 Oct. 2020
That is in contradistinction to Cambrian fossils, among which are found representatives of all the main animal groups (annelids, arthropods, brachiopods, chordates, cnidarians, echinoderms, molluscs and so on) that are around today.
—The Economist, 7 June 2018
The first saw the emergence of brachiopods and molluscs, the second that of annelids, cnidarians, echinoderms and chordates (a group that includes the vertebrates).
—The Economist, 7 June 2018
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Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024
But experts were uncertain about where exactly Pikaia belonged on the chordate family tree.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 24 June 2024
There are only two chordate groups that are not vertebrates—tunicates and cephalochordates.
—Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 16 July 2023
Until now, the glow in other chordate animals had been explained by their diet or from a symbiotic relationship with glowing bacteria.
—Popular Science, 22 Oct. 2020
That is in contradistinction to Cambrian fossils, among which are found representatives of all the main animal groups (annelids, arthropods, brachiopods, chordates, cnidarians, echinoderms, molluscs and so on) that are around today.
—The Economist, 7 June 2018
The first saw the emergence of brachiopods and molluscs, the second that of annelids, cnidarians, echinoderms and chordates (a group that includes the vertebrates).
—The Economist, 7 June 2018
Cite this Entry
“Chordate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chordate. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chordate
noun
chor·date
ˈkȯr-ˌdāt 
ˈkȯrd-ət
: any of a major group of animals (as vertebrates and tunicates) having at least at some stage of development a notochord, a central nervous system located in the back, and openings for water to pass over the gills
chordate
adjective
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