Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
hawkbill

hawkbill

9.8
A tropical sea turtle with a hooked beak valued for its shell and meat
  • noun
  • /ˈhɔːkˌbɪl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : tortuga carey
  • The hawkbill is known for its unique beak, which helps it eat hard-shelled prey.

Examples

  • He sold his stuffed tanagers, his lyrebird, his Quetzal; sold his six hawkbill tortoise shells, the pearl in the shape of a pig, the skull of a wistiti.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • We watched a hawkbill turtle gracefully swim through the coral reef.

  • During our dive, we were lucky to see a hawkbill resting on a rocky ledge.

Synonyms

sea turtle
vshawkbill
18 2.5

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

is specific to a small tropical species valued for shell and food
Eretmochelys imbricata
vshawkbill
  • Specialized
9.9

A tropical sea turtle with a pointed beak and a beautiful patterned shell that is endangered

is viewed more for its shell and as food than as a scientific name
hawksbill turtle
vshawkbill
  • Specialized
7.5

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

is valued mainly for its shell and as a food source
hawksbill
vshawkbill
  • Specialized
9.4

A tropical sea turtle with a hawk-like beak and a beautiful shell wanted by people

is seen more as a source of food and material than for conservation
tortoiseshell turtle
vshawkbill
8.2

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

is instead emphasized as a source of food and shell material
Eretmochelys
vshawkbill
  • Specialized
9.9

A sea turtle with a narrow, pointed beak and a patterned shell

focuses on the turtle as food and shell resource rather than taxonomy
marine turtle
vshawkbill
2.6

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

is narrower, naming a tropical species prized for shell and as food

Surface Forms

hawkbill singular
hawkbills plural

Morphology

hawkbill = hawk + bill (transparent) = hawk + bill

A straightforward compound: 'hawk' + 'bill' denotes a turtle with a bill resembling that of a hawk.

Etymology

Hawkbill comes from the words hawk and bill, where 'bill' means 'beak' like a bird's. The turtle is called this because its hooked, hawk-like beak helps it eat sponges and other sea animals.