box turtle
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of box turtle
An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Driving one afternoon, I come across a box turtle trying to cross the road.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
The eastern box turtle is also deemed vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2025
Coming down a rise in the rolling farmland here, Sara Lee put on the brakes of her bicycle and stooped to pick up a box turtle slowly tottering across the asphalt.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2017
OZORA, Mo. — Coming down a rise in the rolling farmland here, Sara Lee put on the brakes and stooped to pick up a box turtle slowly tottering across the asphalt.
From New York Times ● Aug. 2, 2017
It’s a turtle, box turtle, munching on old Whopper lettuce.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
