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Glite Dictionary
loggerhead turtle

loggerhead turtle

1 4.8
A large sea turtle with a broad head that eats crabs and fish
  • noun
  • /ˈlɔɡərˌhɛd ˈtɜrtl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : tortuga boba
  • You might even see a loggerhead turtle lumbering ashore in the dark to lay eggs in the sand.
  • loggerhead turtle nests

And we've had a record number of loggerhead turtle nests this year.

Examples

  • Total estimated numbers caught were 8,142 sharks, 148 rays, 984 finfish, and 2 loggerhead turtles.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Each season, loggerhead turtles drawn by an innate homing instinct nest on the warm sandy beaches of Bald Head Island, North Carolina.

  • And we've had a record number of loggerhead turtle nests this year.

    Bach and Arthur Podcast

  • Currently, it is illegal to land shortnose sturgeon or loggerhead turtles because they are protected by the federal government.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Biologists believe that the number of loggerhead turtles declined because: 1)

    Academic text (1990)

  • No marine mammals were caught, and two loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta, were caught and released alive.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Of these, the loggerhead turtle is listed as endangered at both state and Commonwealth levels and is the focus of a national recovery plan (Anonymous, 1999).

    Academic text (1999)

  • The largest animals by weight caught during observer trips were bull, lemon, and sandbar sharks, the Atlantic manta ray, and loggerhead turtles (Table 6).

    Academic text (1997)

  • Every year from the start of spring, nearly two million loggerhead turtles are born on the beaches of Florida.

Synonyms

sea turtle
vsloggerhead turtle
18 2.5

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

is specific to a single large species with a broad head and carnivorous diet
loggerhead
vsloggerhead turtle
  • US
2 8.2

A very large sea turtle with a big head and strong jaws

is the common English two-word name for that same species
Caretta caretta
vsloggerhead turtle
  • Specialized
8.9

A large sea turtle called the loggerhead that eats other animals and lives in warm and temperate oceans worldwide

is the common English name used in everyday language
marine turtle
vsloggerhead turtle
2.6

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

is limited to one species, noted for its broad head and carnivory

Surface Forms

loggerhead turtle singular
loggerhead turtles plural

Morphology

loggerhead + turtle

The phrase refers compositionally to a type of turtle: 'loggerhead' specifies a large marine turtle with a broad head and 'turtle' names the reptile, so the overall meaning is a turtle of that kind. A B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings can readily infer it is a species of turtle characterized by a large/broad head, making it transparent.

Etymology

Loggerhead turtle may come from an old word loggerhead that meant a large piece of wood, like a 'log', and people used it for anything with a big head. Because this sea turtle has a very large, wide head, the name stuck and now loggerhead turtle means a sea turtle with a big head.