spine

«spine» in Mova's school dictionary: The row of small bones (vertebrae) down the middle of… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a spine, spines)

meaning for a pupil

1) The row of small bones (vertebrae) down the middle of your back, also called the backbone. tree →

2) A sharp, pointed part on an animal or plant, like the spines of a hedgehog or a cactus. tree →

3) The back edge of a book, where the pages are joined and the title is usually printed. tree →

4) Courage: having the spine to do something. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science, the spine protects the spinal cord, which carries messages between the brain and the body. Animals with a backbone are vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals); animals without are invertebrates (insects, worms, slugs, jellyfish). In safety, sitting well and lifting with your legs protects your spine; never move someone who may have hurt their neck or back — call for help. In libraries, the spine shows the title so you can find books on a shelf. Phrases: "spine-chilling" (scary), "a book spine", "cactus spines", "shivers down my spine".

examples

• Your spine is made of 33 small bones. tree →
• Hedgehogs have sharp spines. tree →
• Careful — cactus spines are prickly. tree →
• Read the title on the spine of the book. tree →
• Animals with a spine are called vertebrates. tree →
• The ghost story sent shivers down my spine. tree →
• Sit up straight to look after your spine. tree →
• A fish's spine runs from its head to its tail. tree →
• They climbed up the dragon's side and dumped the children down on his icy spine, with their backs against the North Pole. tree →

note

Countable: a spine, spines. Adjective: spinal (spinal cord). "Spineless" means without a backbone or, about people, not brave. Most adults have 33 vertebrae, some of which join together. Hedgehog spines are hollow hairs; porcupines have quills.

In the corpora

• The blue tang has a sharp spine near its tail that it uses like a scalpel for defence.
• A blue tang has a sharp spine like a little knife near its tail that it can flick out to defend itself.
• Some caterpillars have hairs or spines that sting or cause rashes, so not every animal that hurts is venomous.
• A hedgehog wears about five thousand spines, and each one is a stiff, hollow hair.
• Venom is a poison that an animal pushes into another animal with fangs, a sting or a spine, like a tiny syringe.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «spine» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.