backbone

Other forms of backbone

plural

backbones·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about backbone

What does backbone mean?

backbone means "a central cohesive source of support and stability". That is the primary sense; the word has 5 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in backbone?

backbone has 2 syllables: back-bone. The stress falls on "back". In IPA it is /ˈbækˌboʊn/.

What is another word for backbone?

Close synonyms include anchor, mainstay, keystone, linchpin, lynchpin. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is backbone a common word?

backbone is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

What rhymes with backbone?

9 words rhyme with backbone. Rhymes are matched on the phonemes from the last stressed vowel onward, which is the definition a reader has in their head.