turtle Definition
tur·tle (tʉrt′'l)
noun pl. -·tles or -·tle
- any of a large and widely distributed order (Testudines) of terrestrial or aquatic reptiles having a toothless beak and a soft body encased in a tough shell into which, in most species, the head, tail, and four legs may be withdrawn: although aquatic, esp. marine, species are usually called turtle and land species are usually called tortoise, the terms are properly interchangeable for all species
- the flesh of some turtles, used as food
- turtleneck
- Archaic turtledove
Etymology: altered, prob. infl. by turtle(dove) < Fr tortue, tortoise < VL *tartaruca: see tortoise
intransitive verb -·tled, -·tling
to hunt for turtles
turtle Idioms
turn turtle
to turn upside down; capsize
turtle Synonyms
turtle
n.
Types of turtles include: land, sea, river, sand, mud, painted, musk, ridley, snapping, snapper*, rain, loggerhead, box, softshell, leatherback, green, hawksbill, Galapagos; matamata, slider, stinkpot.
turtle Usage Examples
Converse of object
- endanger: Environmental groups say fish spawning grounds are threatened and endangered green turtles will be prevented from reaching the sea after they hatch.
- nest: From January to March the beach is closed because of nesting turtles.
- hatch: The peak nesting period for the turtles is April/May with the first hatching turtles emerging from mid May until the end of the season.
- snap: Three giant snapping turtles turned up inside a Bronx, New York sewage treatment plant in 1988.
Adjective modifier
- endangered: Volunteers will work on an extensive array of projects from beach surveys of endangered turtles to the building of wells in remote villages.
- marine: Of the seven species of marine turtles in the world five are found here.
- giant: Fish pond The large fish pond is also home to a couple of giant model turtles!
- aquatic: The term turtle is usually used for the aquatic species, aquatic fresh-water turtles also being referred to as terrapins.
Modifies a noun
- dove: At the window, some magical turtle doves, which nested in the willow tree by her mother's grave, appear.
- hatchlings: We were also very lucky to see flatback turtle hatchlings ( endemic only to Australia ) making their way into the sea.
- hatchery: We found, Lara Beach has a dedicated turtle hatchery and the whole Project attracts grants from the European Union and World Wildlife Fund.
- conservation: At the project, volunteers get to take part in turtle conservation, working with wildlife in South America up close.
- soup: As a mid-morning snack he had some hot turtle soup.
- nest: Cages on-site protect turtle nests, and any turtle nests found on nearby Coral bay are transferred to the hatchery on Lara Beach.
Noun used with modifier
- leatherback: Watching giant leatherback turtles come ashore to lay eggs from March to July.
- loggerhead: These included loggerhead turtle Myrtle, found washed up close to death in the Western Isles in 2004.
- hawksbill: On the bow of the wreck, we saw a hawksbill turtle feeding on the soft corals.
- ridley: The most common species to be found in the sanctuary are hawksbill & olive ridley turtles.
- sea: The three geographic from sea turtle from the many.
- freshwater: It's believed more than 12 million freshwater turtles a year are being sold for food in China alone, " said Rob.
Browse dictionary entries near turtle
- ‹ turreted
- ‹ turret
- ‹ turquoise
- ‹ turps
- ‹ turpitude
- ‹ Turpin
- ‹ turpentine
- ‹ Turnverein
- ‹ turnup
- ‹ turntable doctrine
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- turtlehead ›
- turtleneck ›
- turves ›
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- Tuscarora ›
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