vertebra
/ˈvɜː.tɪb.ɹə/
"vertebra" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“vertebra” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #38,675 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #38,675
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of the bony or cartilaginous segments which make up the backbone, consisting in some lower vertebrates of several distinct elements which never become united, and in higher vertebrates having a...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | vertebra |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈvɜː.tɪb.ɹə/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #38,675 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “vertebra” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for vertebra is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈvɜː.tɪb.ɹə/. Corpus data places it at rank #38,675 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Any of the bony or cartilaginous segments which make up the backbone, consisting in some lower vertebrates of several distinct elements which never become united, and in higher vertebrates having a...".
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for vertebra, with forms such as "evrtebra", "veretbra", and "verrtebra". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "vertebrae", "vertebral", "vertebrate", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowing from Latin vertebra (“a joint”), from vertō (“to turn”) + -bra (instrumental nominal suffix). Having multiple vertebrae (plural of vertebra) in one's backbone instead of having a single bone or solid spine, allows for the movement of the body with… The correct English form is vertebra, spelled V-E-R-T-E-B-R-A.
Definition
- 1Any of the bony or cartilaginous segments which make up the backbone, consisting in some lower vertebrates of several distinct elements which never become united, and in higher vertebrates having a short more or less cylindrical body whose ends articulate by pads of elastic or cartilaginous tissue with those of adjacent vertebrae and a bony arch that encloses the spinal cord.
Etymology
Borrowing from Latin vertebra (“a joint”), from vertō (“to turn”) + -bra (instrumental nominal suffix). Having multiple vertebrae (plural of vertebra) in one's backbone instead of having a single bone or solid spine, allows for the movement of the body with bends and turns. Hence meaning 1.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: evrtebra,veretbra,verrtebra,vertbera,vertebar,vertebbra,vertebrra,verterba,verttebra,vetrebra,vretebra,vvertebra
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of vertebra - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "vertebra"?
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Using “vertebra”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is V-E-R-T-E-B-R-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈvɜː.tɪb.ɹə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “vertebrae” - see the side-by-side comparison. vertebra vs vertebrae
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.