🐢 A shelled reptile 🛡️ To play defensively ⛵ To capsize 🎣 To hunt turtles

turtle

489 1.0

An animal with a hard shell that lives in water or on land

noun
/ˈtɜːrtəl/

: tortuga

In my backyard, I saw a turtle slowly making its way to the pond.
sea turtle
turtle shell
green turtle

And so she decapitated all the turtles, right?

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Examples

You know, I read that sea turtles navigate thousands of miles on instinct.

Super Mario Bros. (1993)
So, like, Oogway was just a crazy old turtle after all.

Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Yeah, So I sat with this turtle that I found in the street.
"Harry gave me a turtle."

Hope Floats (1998)
He was a beautiful turtle who lived a long, long life.

Pretty Basic Podcast
You can't even see the size of that turtle, but it is so big.
But I work with dogs, cats, turtles, rabbits, you name it.

Team Coco
And I think I petted a turtle once actually recently in Maui.

Theo Von
Researchers with the US Geological Survey discovered this Pearl River map turtle, Graptemys pearlensis, in 2010.

Academic text (2011)
In the marine realm, the plight of the whales, sea turtles, and seabirds is widely known.

Academic text (1992)

Compounds

sea turtle

22 2.5

A large turtle that lives in the sea and uses flippers to swim

turtle soup

5 6.3

A soup made from turtle meat that people eat on special occasions

snapping turtle

4 5.4

A large freshwater animal with a strong jaw that can bite when frightened

box turtle

3 5.2

A North American land turtle with a high shell that can close tightly to protect itself

green turtle

2 3.9

A large sea turtle with a smooth greenish shell that lives in warm seas

mock turtle

Archaic

1 8.6

A soup like turtle soup made without turtle meat

mock turtle soup

Archaic

1 8.2

A soup made from a calf's head or other meat that copies turtle soup

leatherback turtle

1 5.0

A very large sea turtle with a soft, leather-like shell that swims long distances

loggerhead turtle

Specialized

1 4.8

A large sea turtle with a broad head that eats crabs and fish

alligator snapping turtle

1 7.9

A large freshwater turtle from the southeastern United States with three shell ridges and a powerful jaw

marine turtle

1 2.6

A large sea animal with a hard shell and flippers that lives in warm oceans

painted turtle

1 5.1

A freshwater turtle with bright yellow and red marks on its shell and skin

green turtle soup

Archaic

1 7.5

A soup made from the meat of green turtles, often served as a special food

mud turtle

1 6.8

A small freshwater turtle that lives on the bottom of soft wet rivers and streams

hawksbill turtle

Specialized

1 7.5

A sea turtle with a pointed, hawk-like beak and a beautiful patterned shell that is endangered

soft-shelled turtle

1 7.2

A water turtle with a flat soft shell that lives in rivers and lakes and bites hard

turtle bean

1 5.0

A small black bean often dried and used in cooking

musk turtle

1 7.7

A small freshwater turtle that gives off a strong smell when threatened

red-bellied turtle

1 8.2

A freshwater turtle with red marks on its lower shell that lives in rivers near Chesapeake Bay

leathery turtle

1 4.8

A very large sea turtle with a soft, flexible shell instead of hard plates

Western box turtle

Specialized

1 6.6

A land turtle with a shell that closes living on prairies in the western United States and northern Mexico

bastard turtle

Specialized

8.9

A grey sea turtle that lives on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America

common snapping turtle

4.2

A large freshwater turtle with a strong hooked jaw that bites when threatened

gopher turtle

7.7

A large land tortoise that lives in burrows in the southeastern United States

pancake turtle

9.8

A turtle that lives in water with a flat flexible shell, thick skin, and a strong bite

tortoiseshell turtle

8.2

A tropical sea turtle with a hooked beak and a beautiful patterned shell valued for decoration and food

turtle-crawl approach

Informal

8.2

A very slow way of doing something that wastes time

How Aquatic

sea turtle

22 2.5

turtle

489 1.0

tortoise

41 1.2

Surface Forms

turtle singular

turtles plural

Etymology

Turtle comes from an old French word tortue, the same source as English tortoise, which people used for shelled reptiles. That's why turtle today means a reptile with a hard shell and often flipper-like feet.