How to Use backbone in a Sentence

backbone

noun

• She is the backbone of the family.
• He showed some backbone by refusing to compromise his values.
• The three have been the backbone of the team for the last three seasons.
  — Lori Riley, Hartford Courant, 14 Mar. 2025
• The backbone of the press corps, many of them died and have been overlooked in the retelling of the war.
  — Gary Knight, Rolling Stone, 1 Aug. 2025
• The defense — one of the best in 2020 — again should be the backbone of the team's success.
  — Erick Smith, USA TODAY, 15 May 2021
• Over time, those pages formed the backbone of four books.
  — Farshad Asl, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
• The scores, the stats, the yards rushed, the baskets scored, and the records broken are the backbone of any sports desk.
  — Dana Hunsinger Benbow, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
• The tree, which is the backbone of the saddle, is thinner above the withers of the horse.
  — Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 24 Mar. 2023
• These movies—there are six of them in all—form the book’s backbone.
  — Isaac Butler, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2022
• In our culture, the men are the head of the household, but the women are the backbone.
  — Katherine Tinsley, Good Housekeeping, 6 Apr. 2022
• Grapefruit, sage and patchouli are the backbone of the fragrance.
  — Dallas News, 30 Nov. 2022
• Hark back to a time where peplum tops were the backbone of your wardrobe.
  — Georgia Trodd, Glamour, 23 Feb. 2023
• This work forms part of the backbone of the Standard Model.
  — Zeeya Merali, Scientific American, 11 May 2022
• The Kenyan police are supposed to be the backbone of the armed mission.
  — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024
• The idea of the physical body is the backbone of this entire video.
  — Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2022
• The backbone of the second unit is the Canadian trio of Joseph, Olynyk and Lyles.
  — Omari Sankofa Ii, Detroit Free Press, 7 Oct. 2021
• Deep down, the media is the backbone for the entire story.
  — John Hopewell, Variety, 23 Sep. 2023
• The linebacker corps, led by Harman and Lee, is the backbone of the defense.
  — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Aug. 2023
• The group forms the backbone of Behavioral Health Court.
  — Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2023
• Where in God's name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with it and stand up to the lobbyists?
  — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 25 May 2022
• The stories that form the backbone of the novel are Juan’s sketches of Jan Gay.
  — Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 16 Nov. 2023
• The changeup that has been the backbone of his breakout carried the day.
  — Nathan Ruiz, baltimoresun.com, 5 May 2021
• Parts of the pterosaur’s shoulders, legs, wings, and backbones were preserved in rock.
  — Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 6 Feb. 2024
• Some gins have a backbone that just sings out of this treatment, and some don’t.
  — Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 21 May 2022
• The stand supports Ohio agriculture, the backbone of the fair.
  — Alissa Widman Neese, Axios, 29 July 2024
• Béchamel is one of the French mother sauces that provide the backbone of so many great recipes.
  — Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 15 July 2024
• These are crosswise cuts that include both sides of the fish with a piece of the backbone in the center.
  — Noma Nazish, Forbes, 26 June 2022
• And two, cell culture was the backbone of this research field.
  — Lorena Galliot, Scientific American, 5 Feb. 2025
• Estate sales, yard sales and connections with rag houses form the backbone of Low Timers’ vintage ecosystem.
  — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 6 Aug. 2025
• The engineering firm’s analysis likely formed the backbone of its most recent appeals to FEMA.
  — Evan Bush, NBC news, 12 Aug. 2025