turtle

noun

• 1a slow-moving reptile, enclosed in a scaly or leathery domed shell into which it can retract its head and thick legs.

  • Family Testudinidae: numerous genera and species, including the European tortoise (Testudo graeca)

• 2 (also sea turtle) a large marine reptile with a bony or leathery shell and flippers, coming ashore annually on sandy beaches to lay eggs.

  • Families Cheloniidae (seven species) and Dermochelyidae (the leatherback)
• the flesh of a sea turtle, especially the green turtle, used chiefly for soup.

• 3a freshwater reptile related to the turtles, typically having a flattened shell. Called terrapin in South Africa and India and tortoise in Australia.

  • Order Chelonia: several families, in particular Emydidae and Kinosternidae
• North American any reptile of the order Chelonia, including the terrapins and tortoises.

• 4 Computing a directional cursor in a computer graphics system that can be instructed to move around a screen.

• 5short for turtleneck.