as in backbones
a column of bones supporting the trunk of a vertebrate animal
he hurt his spine in the accident, but the doctor says he'll be walking again in no time
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spines
The new species was identified by its coloring, skin texture, spines, eye coloring, body proportions and other subtle physical features, the study said.
—
Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
Oxford World’s Classics, whose very name conjures for me an image of the imprint’s white spines, was doing the novel, like Penguin, using multiple translators.
—Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
From Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s hand came branches and whorls, spines and webs.
—Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 29 Sep. 2025
The cactus appears in the Aztec codices and the name comes from a Nahuatl word that means a pot covered in spines.
—Eyder Peralta, NPR, 28 Sep. 2025
Spicomellus had a back that was probably bristling with sharper spines, along with far larger ones along its outer edges.
—ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025
Calderon also looks for hardcover books and pays attention to the spines, not the fragile jackets.
—Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 17 Aug. 2025
Expect to marvel at saddles blanketed in blueberries and multi-hued wildflowers, marmots trilling their warnings, ibex perched on rocky spines, and neon critters that wiggle and hop underfoot.
—Wendy Altschuler, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
Oxford World’s Classics, whose very name conjures for me an image of the imprint’s white spines, was doing the novel, like Penguin, using multiple translators.
—Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
From Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s hand came branches and whorls, spines and webs.
—Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 29 Sep. 2025
The cactus appears in the Aztec codices and the name comes from a Nahuatl word that means a pot covered in spines.
—Eyder Peralta, NPR, 28 Sep. 2025
Spicomellus had a back that was probably bristling with sharper spines, along with far larger ones along its outer edges.
—ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025
Calderon also looks for hardcover books and pays attention to the spines, not the fragile jackets.
—Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 17 Aug. 2025
Expect to marvel at saddles blanketed in blueberries and multi-hued wildflowers, marmots trilling their warnings, ibex perched on rocky spines, and neon critters that wiggle and hop underfoot.
—Wendy Altschuler, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spines
Noun
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Driving trucks is one of the unappreciated backbones of modern civilization.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
6 Sep. 2025
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Platform product management is rarely treated as a strategic, first-class discipline, resulting in fragmented backbones that fail to support enterprise-wide innovation.—
Gaurav Dixit,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
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But over these objections, the school administration, following district protocol, facilitated the sixth grader’s in-school gender transition behind their backs, Foote and Silvestri told the Supreme Court.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Oct. 2025
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But after losing both games at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies' backs were against the wall heading to Los Angeles for Game 3.—
Jon Paul Hoornstra,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spines. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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