backbone

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

Also spelled back-bone

US /ˈbækboʊn/ UK /ˈbækbəʊn/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the spine; the chief support or strength of something

Small farms were once the backbone of the local economy.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the spine; the chief... spine support mainstay pillar resolve fortitude

Opposites

weakness cowardice

Word family

Derived forms backbonedbackboneless

Related forms back bone

Etymology

From Middle English bakbon, from back + bone; the figurative sense of 'firmness of character' developed from the spine's role as the body's main support.

bæc Old English bān Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# backbone

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbækboʊn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbækbəʊn/

## Meanings
1. the spine; the chief support or strength of something

## Examples
- Small farms were once the backbone of the local economy.

## Synonyms
- spine
- support
- mainstay
- pillar
- resolve
- fortitude

## Antonyms
- weakness
- cowardice

## Derived Forms
- backboned
- backboneless

## Related Forms
- back
- bone

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bæc
- Root: bān

## Etymology
From Middle English bakbon, from back + bone; the figurative sense of 'firmness of character' developed from the spine's role as the body's main support.

## AI Etymology
Backbone is from Middle English bakbon, from back + bone; the figurative sense of 'firmness of character' developed from the spine's role as the body's main support. Important recorded forms include bæc (Old English) and bān (Old English). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers the spine; the chief support or strength of something. The wider family includes derived forms such as backboned and backboneless and related words such as back and bone.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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