<B>vertebra, </B>noun, pl. <B>-brae,</B> <B>-bras.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>one of the bones of the backbone or spinal column. In man and higher animals a vertebra consists typically of a somewhat cylindrical central body (centrum) and arch (neural arch) supporting seven processes, the whole forming an opening for the passage of the spinal cord. <DD><B> 2. </B>the vertebral column; spine or backbone. </DL>
<A NAME="vertebral">
<B>vertebral, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of, having to do with, or situated on or near a vertebra or the vertebrae; spinal. <DD><B> 2. </B>of the nature of a vertebra. <DD><B> 3. </B>composed of vertebrae. <DD><B> 4. </B>having vertebrae; backboned. <DD><I>noun </I> a vertebral artery or vein. adv. <B>vertebrally.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="vertebralcolumn">
<B>vertebral column,</B> =backbone.</DL>
<A NAME="vertebrate">
<B>vertebrate, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> an animal that has a backbone. Fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are vertebrates. Technically, vertebrates comprise a subphylum of chordates having a segmented spinal column and a brain case or cranium. <BR> <I>Ex. Vertebrates characteristically have a red blood pigment, rich in iron, known as haemoglobin, which combines readily with oxygen (Mary Sears).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>having a backbone. <DD><B> 2. </B>of, belonging to, or having to do with the vertebrates. </DL>
<A NAME="vertebrated">
<B>vertebrated, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having a spinal column; vertebrate. <DD><B> 2. </B>consisting of or provided with vertebrae. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) constructed in a manner suggestive of vertebrae. </DL>
<A NAME="vertebration">
<B>vertebration, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> division into segments like those of the spinal column: vertebrate formation. </DL>
<A NAME="vertex">
<B>vertex, </B>noun, pl. <B>-texes</B> or <B>-tices.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the highest point of something, especially a hill or structure; top. (SYN) apex, summit. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Anatomy.) the top or crown of the head, especially in man, the part lying between the occiput and the sinciput. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Astronomy.) the point in the heavens directly overhead; zenith. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Mathematics.) <DD><B> a. </B>the point opposite to and farthest from the base of a triangle, pyramid, or other figure having a base. <DD><B> b. </B>the point where the two sides of an angle meet. <DD><B> c. </B>any point of intersection of the sides of a polygon or the edges of a polyhedron. <DD><B> d. </B>the point in a curve or surface at which the axis meets it. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Optics.) the point, at the center of a lens, where the axis cuts the surface. </DL>
<A NAME="vertical">
<B>vertical, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>straight up and down; perpendicular to a level surface or to the plane of the horizon; upright. A person standing straight is in a vertical position. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or at the highest point; of the vertex. <DD><B> 3. </B>directly overhead; at the zenith. <BR> <I>Ex. a vertical sighting.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>so organized as to include many or all stages in the production or distribution of some manufactured product. <BR> <I>Ex. a vertical union, vertical trusts.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Botany.) <DD><B> a. </B>having a position at right angles to the plane of the axis, body, or other supporting surface, as the blade of a leaf. <DD><B> b. </B>in the direction of the stem or axis; lengthwise. <DD><B> 6. </B>of or having to do with the sounds forming harmony, especially in a homophonic composition. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a vertical line, plane, position, direction, or part. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=vertical angle.</B> <DD><B> 3. </B>a vertical beam or other part in a truss. adv. <B>vertically.</B> noun <B>verticalness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="verticalangle">
<B>vertical angle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Geometry.) <DD><B> 1. </B>an opposite angle. <DD><B> 2. </B>the angle opposite the base of a triangle or polygon. </DL>
<A NAME="verticalcircle">
<B>vertical circle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Astronomy.) any great circle of the celestial sphere perpendicular to the plane of the horizon, passing through the zenith and nadir. </DL>
<A NAME="verticaldivestiture">
<B>vertical divestiture,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the act or fact of limiting a conglomerate company's holdings in related businesses by law, such as forcing an oil company to limit its holdings in the oil industry to exploration and drilling or refining or marketing. </DL>
<A NAME="verticalenvelopment">
<B>vertical envelopment,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> attack by airplanes or paratroops, usually combined with operations by ground forces, in an effort to cut off or encircle the enemy. </DL>
<A NAME="verticalfile">
<B>vertical file,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a file of pamphlets, circulars, charts, bulletins, newspaper clippings, and the like, about topics of current interest, maintained by a library or other organization for quick or easy reference. <DD><B> 2. </B>a cabinet for such a file. </DL>
<B>verticality, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>the condition of being vertical; vertical position. <DD><B> b. </B>perpendicular quality. <BR> <I>Ex. the verticality of a building.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Astronomy.) the fact of being directly overhead or at the zenith. </DL>
<B>vertical merger,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a merger of companies that are each other's suppliers or customers, as distinguished from a horizontal merger. </DL>
<A NAME="verticaltakeoff">
<B>vertical take-off,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a take-off by an aircraft directly upward. </DL>
<A NAME="verticalunion">
<B>vertical union,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a labor union whose membership includes the workers of an entire industry rather than those employed at a particular craft or task; industrial union. </DL>
<A NAME="vertices">
<B>vertices, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a plural of <B>vertex.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="verticil">
<B>verticil, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a whorl or circle of leaves, hairs, and other parts, growing around a stem or central point. </DL>
<A NAME="verticillaster">
<B>verticillaster, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) a determinate inflorescence in which the flowers are arranged in a seeming whorl, consisting in fact of a pair of opposite axillary, usually sessile, cymes, as in many plants of the mint family. </DL>
<A NAME="verticillate">
<B>verticillate, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>forming verticils or whorls. <BR> <I>Ex. verticillate leaves or flowers.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) having leaves, flowers, and other parts arranged or produced in circles or whorls around the stem. adv. <B>verticillately.</B> </DL>
<B>verticillation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the formation of verticils. <DD><B> 2. </B>a vertical or verticillate form or structure. </DL>
<A NAME="verticillium">
<B>verticillium, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a disease of cotton, tomatoes, hops, and other plants, caused by a soil fungus that attacks the entire plant through the roots; verticillium wilt. <DD><B> 2. </B>the fungus causing this disease. <BR> <I>Ex. Verticillium is likely to be present in all old agricultural soils in which potatoes and tomatoes have been grown (Sunset).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="verticilliumwilt">
<B>verticillium wilt,</B> =verticillium.</DL>
<A NAME="verticity">
<B>verticity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Obsolete.) a tendency to turn towards a vertex or pole, especially as exhibited by a magnetic needle. </DL>
<A NAME="vertiginate">
<B>vertiginate, </B>intransitive verb, <B>-nated,</B> <B>-nating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to turn round, spin, or rush dizzily. <BR> <I>Ex. Finding where the car is parked once one descends and ceases to vertiginate becomes a real problem (New York Times). Surely never did argument vertiginate more (Samuel Taylor Coleridge).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="vertiginous">
<B>vertiginous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>whirling; rotary; revolving. <BR> <I>Ex. the vertiginous action of a gyroscope.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>affected with or suffering from vertigo; dizzy. <BR> <I>Ex. At the edge of the cliff she grew vertiginous and hastily retreated.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>of the nature of or having to do with vertigo; likely to cause vertigo. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) fickle; unstable. adv. <B>vertiginously.</B> noun <B>vertiginousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="vertigo">
<B>vertigo, </B>noun, pl. <B>vertigoes,</B> <B>vertigines.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an abnormal condition characterized by a feeling that the person, or the objects around one, are whirling in space, and by a tendency to lose equilibrium and consciousness; dizziness; giddiness. <BR> <I>Ex. Vertigo is caused by changes of the blood supply in the head.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Veterinary Medicine.) the staggers in horses, the sturdy or gid in sheep, or a similar disease in dogs. </DL>
<A NAME="vertimeter">
<B>vertimeter, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an instrument that measures the rate of climb or descent of an aircraft. </DL>
<A NAME="vertiport">
<B>vertiport, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small airport for aircraft that can take off and land vertically; VTOLport. </DL>
<A NAME="vertu">
<B>vertu, </B>noun. =virtu.</DL>
<A NAME="vertumnus">
<B>Vertumnus, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the Roman god of spring, guardian of gardens and orchards, and husband of Pomona. Also, <B>Vortumnus.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="vervain">
<B>vervain, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any verbena, especially any species bearing spikes of small white, bluish, or purple flowers, such as a common European species and a common American species. </DL>
<A NAME="verve">
<B>verve, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>enthusiasm; energy; vigor; spirit; liveliness. <BR> <I>Ex. full of verve and enjoyment of life.</I> <DD><B> 2a. </B>intellectual vigor or energy, especially as expressed or shown in literary productions; liveliness of ideas and expression. <DD><B> b. </B>(Obsolete.) talent in writing. </DL>
<A NAME="vervet">
<B>vervet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small African monkey of a grayish-green color, one of the guenons. </DL>
