turtle.
Any land, aquatic, or semi-aquatic reptile of the order Testudines, characterised by a protective shell enclosing its body. See also tortoise.
Meaning & usage
Any land, aquatic, or semi-aquatic reptile of the order Testudines, characterised by a protective shell enclosing its body. See also tortoise.
Any land, aquatic, or semi-aquatic reptile of the order Testudines, characterised by a protective shell enclosing its body. See also tortoise. A marine reptile of that order.
Senses resembling a turtle in protection
Senses resembling a turtle in protection An Ancient Roman attack method, where the shields held by the soldiers hide them, not only left, right, front and back, but also from above.
Senses resembling a turtle in shape or movement A type of robot having a domed case (and so resembling the reptile), used in education, especially for making line drawings by means of a computer program.
Senses resembling a turtle in shape or movement An on-screen cursor that serves the same function as a turtle for drawing.
Senses resembling a turtle in shape or movement A breakdancing move consisting of a float during which the dancer's weight shifts from one hand to the other, producing rotation or a circular "walk".
Senses resembling a turtle in shape or movement A position reminiscent of a turtle.
Senses resembling a turtle in shape or movement A position reminiscent of a turtle. A position in which a person drops down all fours, limbs and chin tucked in, to protect their core.
Senses resembling a turtle in shape or movement A low stand for a lamp, etc.
Senses resembling a turtle in shape or movement A candy with pecans, caramel, and chocolate, often shaped like a turtle.
Senses resembling a turtle in shape or movement The curved plate in which the form is held in a type-revolving cylinder press.
Senses resembling a turtle in slowness
Senses resembling a turtle in slowness A small element towards the end of a list of items to be bubble sorted, and thus tending to take a long time to be swapped into its correct position.
Where this word comes from
Modification of Middle English tortou, tortu, from Old French tortüe (under the influence of Middle English turtel, turtur (“turtledove”), see Etymology 2 below), from Old Occitan tortuga (compare Spanish tortuga), the same source of tortoise (see there for more). Displaced native Old English byrdling (See birdling).
To flip over onto the back or top; to turn upside down.
To flip over onto the back or top; to turn upside down. To turn and swim upside down.
To flip over onto the back or top; to turn upside down. To capsize, turning fully over.
To flip over onto the back or top; to turn upside down. To fall with one arm behind a rope, forcing the climber to dangle on their back, leaving them helpless.
To move along slowly.
To hunt turtles, especially in the water.
To build up a large defense force and strike only occasionally, rather than going for an offensive strategy.
Ellipsis of turtle head (“to struggle to hold back an imminent bowel movement”).
Where this word comes from
Modification of Middle English tortou, tortu, from Old French tortüe (under the influence of Middle English turtel, turtur (“turtledove”), see Etymology 2 below), from Old Occitan tortuga (compare Spanish tortuga), the same source of tortoise (see there for more). Displaced native Old English byrdling (See birdling).
A turtle dove.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English turtle, tortle, turtel, turtul, from Old English turtle, turtla (“turtledove”), ultimately from Latin turtur (“turtledove”), of imitative origin.
A turtle-neck garment.
Where this word comes from
Ellipsis of turtle-neck
Try it on your idea.
turtle has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.