spine

noun spines

1. A series of bones situated at the back from the head to the pelvis of a human, or from the head to the tail of an animal, enclosing the spinal cord and providing support for the thorax and abdomen. If you attentively regard almost any quadruped's spine, you will be struck with the resemblance of its vertebrae to a strung necklace of dwarfed skulls.

   Similar: backbone, spinal column, vertebral column

2. figuratively Courage or assertiveness. Trademark Owners will nevertheless try to dictate how their marks are to be represented, but dictionary publishers with spine can resist such pressure.

   Similar: backbone, spinal column, vertebral column

3. Something resembling a backbone, such as a ridge, or a long, central structure from which other structures radiate. [Describing scoliosis.] The integuments over the abdomen are folded or wrinkled, the left breast is seldom fully developed, the ribs lose their natural shape, those of the left side becoming straighter, while, on the right side, they are so much curved, as to admit of their being easily grasped by t
4. The narrow, bound edge of a book 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 and publisher's name. The spine is the book's backbone. Because the spine is generally all you can see when a book is on the shelf, the spine displays the title and author of the book and is often ornately decorated.

   Similar: back

5. A pointed, fairly rigid protuberance or needlelike structure on an animal, shell, mushroom or plant. The botanical term technically refers to such a structure derived from a leaf or part of a leaf. The male, as Dr. Gunther informs me, has a cluster of stiff, straight spines, like those of a comb, on the sides of the tail.

   Similar: needle, prickle, quill, spicule, spike, thorn, virgula

6. The heartwood of trees.
7. abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of dendritic spine Spines are distinguished by the presence of globular tips called spine heads; when spines are present, the synapses innervating dendrites are made from these heads.
8. A linear payscale operated by some large organizations that allows flexibility for local and specific conditions.

   Similar: pay spine

9. A tall mass of viscous lava extruded from a volcano.
10. The stiffness of an arrow.
11. A central part which supports a whole; core. The false securities of upward mobility have been lampooned by Philip Roth, those of family feality ^([sic]) by many gay novelists. The two meet in Uncle and form the spine of a sly, knowing, and ultimately uncompassionate novel.