- (North American English also sea turtle)a large reptile with a hard round shell that lives in the sea see also snapping turtleTopics Animalsc1
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- (North American English, informal) any reptile with a large shell, for example a tortoise or terrapinTopics Animalsc1
Word Originmid 16th cent.: apparently an alteration of French tortue, from medieval Latin tortuca, of uncertain origin.
Idioms
See turtle in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryturn turtle
- (of a boat) to turn over completely while sailing
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turtle