Backbone
Backbone (bak"bōn`) , noun
[2d back, n. + bone.]
1.
The column of bones in the back which sustains and gives firmness to the frame; the spine; the vertebral or spinal column.
2.
Anything like, or serving the purpose of, a backbone.
The lofty mountains on the north side compose the granitic axis, or backbone of the country.
We have now come to the backbone of our subject.
3.
Firmness; moral principle; steadfastness.
Shelley's thought never had any backbone.
Collocations (1)
To the backbone , through and through; thoroughly; entirely. Staunch to the backbone.