backbone

Noun

Meaning

The column of bones in the back which sustains and gives firmness to the frame; the spine; the vertebral or spinal column.

Anything like, or serving the purpose of, a backbone.

Firmness; moral principle; steadfastness.

Source: Webster's dictionary

spine vertebral column spinal column moxie keystone back sand anchor mainstay gumption guts grit rachis linchpin lynchpin

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rand downer penitence nag side beginning

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connexion support connector fortitude connection portion

chine notochord

To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone. Reba McEntire

The farmers may be the backbone of the country, but who wants to be a backbone? F. Scott Fitzgerald

He was a tool of the boss, without brains or backbone. Franz Kafka

Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where you backbone ought to be. Clementine Paddleford

It is the very backbone of wisdom not to trust too hastily. Latin Proverb

Anxiety breaks a man's backbone. Jewish Proverb