backbone

noun

1 an injured backbone:

spine, spinal column, vertebral column, vertebrae;

back;

technical dorsum, rachis.

2 these firms are the backbone of our industrial sector:

mainstay, cornerstone, foundation, chief support, buttress, pillar, sinews.

3 he has enough backbone to see us through this difficulty:

strength of character, strength of will, firmness of purpose, firmness, resolution, resolve, determination, fortitude, mettle, moral fibre, spine, steel, nerve, spirit, pluck, pluckiness, courage, courageousness, bravery, braveness, valour, manliness;

informal guts, spunk, grit;

British, informal bottle;

vulgar slang balls.

▷antonyms weakness.

word links	backbone
spinal relating to the backbone

backbone Oxford Dictionary of English