backbone

Meanings

• a central cohesive source of support and stability
• fortitude and determination
• the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord
• 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
• the part of a network that connects other networks together
  • "the backbone is the part of a communication network that carries the heaviest traffic"

Synonyms

anchor, back, grit, gumption, guts, keystone, linchpin, lynchpin, mainstay, moxie, rachis, sand, spinal column, spine, vertebral column