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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of spines
Their characteristic projecting spines serve both as flotation modulators (via a complex process akin to raising and lowering protoplasmic sails) and as masts permitting the cell to extend itself outward into the surrounding water and feed.
—
Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Tiny tech, vast reach In animal experiments conducted at a research facility in Paris, the team successfully guided MagFlow through the intricate arteries of pigs’ heads, necks, and spines, safely delivering contrast and embolizing agents to highly curved and narrow vessels.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025
The morning light casts jagged shadows across the pink stone, catching the saguaro spines and illuminating them like desert saints.
—Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
To eat the nopales, remove the spines (spikes, thorns, or barbs) and use them raw in salads or cooked in soups or tacos.
—Barbie Cervoni, Verywell Health, 22 Oct. 2025
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
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
Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Tiny tech, vast reach In animal experiments conducted at a research facility in Paris, the team successfully guided MagFlow through the intricate arteries of pigs’ heads, necks, and spines, safely delivering contrast and embolizing agents to highly curved and narrow vessels.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025
The morning light casts jagged shadows across the pink stone, catching the saguaro spines and illuminating them like desert saints.
—Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
To eat the nopales, remove the spines (spikes, thorns, or barbs) and use them raw in salads or cooked in soups or tacos.
—Barbie Cervoni, Verywell Health, 22 Oct. 2025
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
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
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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Palace’s super-strength is low crosses provided by flying wing-backs, when they can be released, running into space on the edge of the box.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
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The Los Angeles Dodgers have their backs against the wall against the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series.—
Aaliyan Mohammed,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spines. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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