spine | meaning of spine in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishHuman, Biology, Newspapers, printing, publishingspinespine /spaɪn/ ●●○ noun    1 HBH[countable] the row of bones down the centre of your back that supports your body and protects your spinal cord SYN backbone2 HB[countable] a stiff sharp point on an animal or plant  cactus spines3 TCN[countable] the part of a book that the pages are fastened onto4 [uncountable] courage or determinationExamples from the Corpusspine• Plain radiographs of the cervical spine in flexion and extension will allow recognition of atlantoaxial subluxation and subaxial subluxation.• Her spine twisted; in her dreams she twisted, turning toward that clearing again, again.• For months he had hung between life and death, with a bullet in his spine.• Now he was scheduled to undergo a second surgery the next day to repair nerve and disc damage in his spine.• It could be toxoplasmosis spreading through his spine.• Hedgehogs' backs are covered with stiff, sharp spines.• Hold that stretch, pulling and elongating the spine from the very base out of the hips, chin to chest.• The posture puts an unnatural stress on the spine and shortens the neck.Origin spine (1300-1400) Latin spina