carapace
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of carapace
1830–40; < French < Spanish carapacho, of obscure origin
Explanation
Carapace is a scientific term for protective shell. Turtles and crabs have them, but humans don't — so we make do with bike helmets and elbow pads. Otherwise known as outerwear for arthropods and turtles, carapace is a word you probably won't come across very often, unless you're a zoologist. But that doesn't mean you can't use it to describe someone who's a tough nut to crack. If a person has a gruff attitude meant to protect them emotionally, they've certainly enclosed themselves in a carapace of sorts.
Vocabulary lists containing carapace
Into the Wild
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Brave New World
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The Sun Is Also a Star
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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.
As the main puppeteer on set, Ortiz was in charge of moving its face or central carapace — and he also voices him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
"Turtle growth rates and sizes vary," says Cómbita-Romero, so the team looked at features like the thickness of its carapace and the spots where its ribs were knitting together into solid bone.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 7, 2023
It had stubby limbs and a flattened carapace, suggesting that—unlike modern sea turtles—this ancient reptile lived along shallow coastlines.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 22, 2023
Polished, urbane and preternaturally prepared, Cornwell’s sometimes mischievous demeanor forms a kind of shadow narrative, a fascinating carapace that Morris’s interrogatory arrows fail to fully pierce.
From New York Times ● Oct. 19, 2023
If your carapace looks a little like a face, they will throw you back.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
