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Noun: vertebrate  vur-tu-brut or 'vur-tu,breyt
  1. Animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium
    "Humans are an example of highly evolved vertebrates";
    - craniate
Adjective: vertebrate  vur-tu-brut or 'vur-tu,breyt
  1. (zoology) having a backbone or spinal column
    "fishes and amphibians and reptiles and birds and mammals are vertebrate animals"

Derived forms: vertebrates

Type of: chordate

Antonym: invertebrate

Part of: Craniata, subphylum Craniata, subphylum Vertebrata, Vertebrata

Encyclopedia: Vertebrate