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backbone
9 dictionary results for: backbone
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
back·bone 
[bak-bohn] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[bak-bohn] Pronunciation Key –noun
| 1. | Anatomy. the spinal column; spine. |
| 2. | strength of character; resolution. |
| 3. | something resembling a backbone in appearance, position, or function. |
| 4. | Bookbinding. a back or bound edge of a book; spine. |
| 5. | Nautical. a rope running along the middle of an awning, as a reinforcement and as an object to which a supporting bridle or crowfoot may be attached. |
| 6. | Naval Architecture. the central fore-and-aft assembly of the keel and keelson, giving longitudinal strength to the bottom of a vessel. |
—Related forms
backboned, adjective
backboneless, adjective
—Synonyms 2. firmness, decision, fortitude.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| back·bone
(bāk'bōn') Pronunciation Key
n.
back'boned' adj. |
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
backbone
backbone
"spine," c.1300, from back + bone. Fig. sense of "strength of character" is attested from 1843.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| backbone | |
noun | |
| 1. | a central cohesive source of support and stability; "faith is his anchor"; "the keystone of campaign reform was the ban on soft money"; "he is the linchpin of this firm" [syn: anchor] |
| 2. | fortitude and determination; "he didn't have the guts to try it" |
| 3. | the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord; "the fall broke his back" [syn: spinal column] |
| 4. | the part of a book's cover that encloses the inner side of the book's pages and that faces outward when the book is shelved; "the title and author were printed on the spine of the book" [syn: spine] |
| 5. | the part of a network that connects other networks together; "the backbone is the part of a communication network that carries the heaviest traffic" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| backbone
(bāk'bōn') Pronunciation Key
See vertebral column.
|
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
backbone
backbone
The primary line(s) that connects the slower, shorter cable portions of a communications network together. (See last mile.) In larger networks, such as the Internet, a backbone consists of high-capacity, high-speed lines that can extend over great distances.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
backbone back·bone (bāk'bōn')
n.
See spinal column.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This
backbone networking
The top level in a hierarchical network. Stub networks and transit networks which connect to the same backbone are guaranteed to be interconnected.
See also: Internet backbone.
(1998-07-02)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Backbone
Back"bone"\, n. [2d back,n.+ bone. ]1. The column of bones in the back which sustains and gives firmness to the frame; the spine; the vertebral or spinal column. 2. Anything like, or serving the purpose of, a backbone. The lofty mountains on the north side compose the granitic axis, or backbone of the country. --Darwin. We have now come to the backbone of our subject. --Earle. 3. Firmness; moral principle; steadfastness. Shelley's thought never had any backbone. --Shairp. To the backbone, through and through; thoroughly; entirely. "Staunch to the backbone." --Lord Lytton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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