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
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
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
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
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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The principle has been to compress space by getting their full-backs to push up the pitch and man-marking the opposition’s midfielders.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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The portal has gifted Vandy its Heisman Trophy-caliber quarterback (Diego Pavia), leading pass catcher (Eli Stowers), top two defensive backs (CJ Heard and Randon Fontenette) and above-average punter (Nick Haberer).—
Quentin Corpuel,
Kansas City Star,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spines. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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