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# invertebrate

noun (an invertebrate, invertebrates); adjective (invertebrate)

«invertebrate» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone, such as an insect, spider, worm, snail, jellyfish or crab. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/invertebrate/#m1)
2. Invertebrate (adjective) means having no backbone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/invertebrate/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science lessons on classifying animals, animals are sorted into vertebrates (with backbones: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and invertebrates. Most animal species on Earth are invertebrates. Some have hard outer skeletons (exoskeletons) like insects and crabs, some have shells like snails, and some are soft like worms. Pupils go on minibeast hunts to find invertebrates.

### Examples

- A worm is an invertebrate because it has no backbone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/invertebrate/#x1)
- Insects, spiders and snails are invertebrates. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/invertebrate/#x2)
- We went on a hunt for invertebrates under logs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/invertebrate/#x3)
- Most animals on Earth are invertebrates. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/invertebrate/#x4)
- A crab is an invertebrate with a hard shell called an exoskeleton. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/invertebrate/#x5)
- An octopus is a clever invertebrate. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/invertebrate/#x6)

### Note

Countable: invertebrates. in- + vertebrate (vertebra = a bone of the backbone). Opposite: vertebrate. Trap: having a hard shell does not make an animal a vertebrate; crabs and snails are still invertebrates.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «invertebrate» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/invertebrate/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«invertebrate» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/invertebrate.html) on Mova free.