What does vertebra mean?
Word: Vertebra
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Vertebra means one of the small bones linked together to form the backbone.
Word origin: Comes from Latin, linked to the verb vertere.
How do you spell vertebra?
Syllables: ver - te - bra
Tricky part: The second vowel is an e, but it is so weak in speech that writers try an a or an i.
Watch out for: vertabra, vertibra
Memory tip: Say it once as ver-TEE-bra, with a loud middle, so that the e cannot hide.
Vertebra in a sentence
Example 1: The biology teacher passed round a plastic vertebra for us to examine.
Example 2: Each vertebra has a hole through which the spinal cord passes.
Example 3: Our museum guide showed us a single dinosaur vertebra as big as a football.
Fun Fact
A giraffe has just seven bones in its neck, the same number as a human, so each vertebra there has to be very long.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) vertebra : vertebraes
b) fungus : fungi
c) crisis : crises
d) larva : larvae
Show answer
a) vertebra : vertebraes. Latin nouns ending in a add just one letter, e, in the plural, and never an s as well.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
12345678 berratve
a) 32768145
b) 72368145
c) 72358146
d) 71368245
Show answer
b) 72368145. Follow those numbers and the small bone of the backbone appears.
Sound Check
In which word is 'er' pronounced differently?
a) mercy
b) vertebra
c) clerk
d) nerve
Show answer
c) clerk. British English says clerk with the ah of dark; the others have the sound in her.
Word Champ
In which option are the given words arranged in alphabetical order?
1. vertical 2. vertebrate 3. vertex 4. vertebra
a) 2413
b) 4213
c) 4231
d) 2431
Show answer
c) 4231. All four open with vert, and the shorter word that stops early comes before the one that runs on.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these animals has no vertebra at all?
a) a sparrow
b) a frog
c) a goldfish
d) an earthworm
Show answer
d) an earthworm
2. Where on a skeleton model would a biology student point to find a vertebra?
a) just under the collarbone
b) inside the lower arm
c) along the middle of the back
d) at the side of the knee
Show answer
c) along the middle of the back
