Invertebrate Meaning
/ɪnˈvəːtɪbrət/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn animal without vertebrae (i.e., without a backbone).
nounA spineless person; a coward.
Sentence Examples
The invertebrate animal was a worm.
Invertebrate species are diverse.
A snail is a common type of invertebrate animal.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Unlike mammals with spines, a jellyfish is an ____ that has no backbone.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
An ____ is a type of animal that does not have a backbone, such as a spider, a snail, or an octopus.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English in- English vertebrate English invertebrate From in- + vertebrate.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Yet despite sounding inhospitable, grasslands such as this are home to a huge variety of smaller herbs and wildflowers, including some of the UK's rarest orchids and invertebrates, in addition to being home to butterfly species such as the Chalkhill Blue."
— 2024 March 20, Chris Howe, “High speed underneath the Chilterns...”, in RAIL, number 1005, page 33:
"Tear it up, and put a fragment under the microscope, and, wonder of wonders! see the maze of geometric forms exhibited in the bones of the creature; for who can help regarding the spicules as bones, even though a sponge be invertebrate?"
— 1860, Recreative Science, page 110:
"This week Fifa’s morally invertebrate president, Gianni Infantino, gave a speech that attempted to paint his World Cup as a marker of a grand struggle between the bright new world and corrupt old Europe, with Infantino himself the Mandela at its centre."
— 2022 November 21, Barney Ronay, “Iran’s brave and powerful gesture is a small wonder from a World Cup of woe”, in The Guardian:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Unlike mammals with spines, a jellyfish is an ____ that has no backbone.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
An ____ is a type of animal that does not have a backbone, such as a spider, a snail, or an octopus.