Main entry: backbone
Definition: the part of a network that connects other networks together
Usage: the backbone is the part of a communication network that carries the heaviest traffic
Definition: the part of a book's cover that encloses the inner side of the book's pages and that faces outward when the book is shelved
Usage: the title and author were printed on the spine of the book
Main entry: gumption, guts, grit, sand, moxie, backbone
Definition: fortitude and determination
Usage: he didn't have the guts to try it
Main entry: back, backbone, vertebral column, spinal column, spine, rachis
Definition: the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord
Usage: the fall broke his back
Main entry: lynchpin, mainstay, keystone, linchpin, backbone, anchor
Definition: a central cohesive source of support and stability
Usage: faith is his anchor; the keystone of campaign reform was the ban on soft money; he is the linchpin of this firm