Word
invertebrate
Phoneticsin·ver·te·brate
US/ˌɪnˈvɝtəˌbɹeɪt/
UK/ɪnvˈɜːtɪbɹˌeɪt/
Definition
n. an animal that does not have a backbone. This includes creatures like insects, spiders, worms, and jellyfish.
n. an animal lacking a vertebral column or backbone. This category encompasses the vast majority of animal species, including arthropods, molluscs, and cnidarians.
Examples
“The garden is full of insects, which are invertebrates.”
“Marine biologists spent the afternoon cataloging various invertebrates found in the tide pools along the rocky shore.”
“While vertebrates are often the focus of public interest, invertebrates play a critical role in ecosystem health, serving as primary pollinators and decomposers in nearly every habitat on Earth.”
Examples
simple
“The garden is full of insects, which are invertebrates.”
contextual
“Marine biologists spent the afternoon cataloging various invertebrates found in the tide pools along the rocky shore.”
complex
“While vertebrates are often the focus of public interest, invertebrates play a critical role in ecosystem health, serving as primary pollinators and decomposers in nearly every habitat on Earth.”
Real-World Examples
Common in science writing
“Earthworms made up most of the soil invertebrates, and we believe their movements are contributing significantly to the soil soundscape.” “Spiders belong to a large group of invertebrates called chelicerates, which also includes scorpions and ticks.” “In particular, this research showed that river invertebrates are less able to recover from drought when water quality is poor or river flows are already below normal, potentially due to water withdrawals.” Etymology
From in- + vertebrate.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/invertebrate