Yahoo Web Search

Search results

1. Dictionary

   spine

   /spʌɪn/

   noun

   • 1. a series of vertebrae extending from the skull to the small of the back, enclosing the spinal cord and providing support for the thorax and abdomen; the backbone: "a soft voice that sent a shiver down her spine" Similar backbonespinal columnvertebral columnvertebraebacktechnical:dorsumrachis
   • ▪ the central feature or main source of strength of something: "players of high quality who will form the spine of our side" Similar mainstaybackbonecornerstonefoundationbasis
   • ▪ resolution or strength of character. Similar strength of characterstrength of willfirmness of purposefirmnessresolutionresolvedeterminationfortitudemettlemoral fibrebackbonesteelnervespiritpluckpluckinesscouragecourageousnessbraverybravenessvalourmanlinessinformal:gutsgritspunkbottlevulgar slang:ballsOpposite weakness
   • 2. the part of a book's jacket or cover that encloses the inner edges of the pages, facing outwards when the book is on a shelf and typically bearing the title and the author's name.
   • 3. any hard, pointed defensive projection or structure, such as a prickle of a hedgehog, a spike-like projection on a sea urchin, a sharp ray in a fish's fin, or a spike on the stem of a plant. Similar needlequillbristlebarbspikepricklethorntechnical:spiculespiculaspiculumspinule
   • 4. a linear pay scale operated by some large organizations that allows flexibility for local and specific conditions.
   • 5. a tall mass of viscous lava extruded from a volcano: "the Mt Pelee spine was exceptional only for its extreme height—over 300 metres"

   Word Origin late Middle English: shortening of Old French espine, or from Latin spina ‘thorn, prickle, backbone’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. spined adjective

   Scrabble Points: 7

   • S

     1

   • P

     3

   • I

     1

   • N

     1

   • E

     1

   Powered by Oxford Dictionaries

   More definitions, origin and scrabble points