A vertebrate is a creature which has a spine. Mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish are vertebrates.
Both groups share two attributes normally associated with vertebrates.
...the ears of vertebrates.
vertebrate in British English
(ˈvɜːtɪˌbreɪt, -brɪt)
noun
1.
any chordate animal of the subphylum Vertebrata, characterized by a bony or cartilaginous skeleton and a well-developed brain: the group contains fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals
adjective
2.
of, relating to, or belonging to the subphylum Vertebrata
vertebrate in American English
(ˈvɜrtəbrɪt; ˈvɜrtəˌbreɪt)
adjective
1.
having a backbone, or spinal column
2.
of or belonging to the vertebrates
noun
3.
any of a large subphylum (Vertebrata) of chordate animals, including all mammals,fishes, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, characterized by a brain enclosed in a brainpan and a segmented spinal column
Word origin
L vertebratus < vertebra: see vertebra
Examples of 'vertebrate' in a sentence
vertebrate
Try dating something from the vertebrate branch of the animal kingdom.