Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

carapace

American  
[kar-uh-peys] / ˈkær əˌpeɪs /

noun

  1. a bony or chitinous shield, test, or shell covering some or all of the dorsal part of an animal, as of a turtle.

carapace British  
/ ˈkærəˌpeɪs /

noun

  1. the thick hard shield, made of chitin or bone, that covers part of the body of crabs, lobsters, tortoises, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
carapace Scientific  
/ kăr′ə-pās′ /

  1. A hard outer covering or shell made of bone or chitin on the back of animals such as turtles, armadillos, lobsters, and crabs.

Other Word Forms

  • carapaced adjective
  • carapacial adjective

Etymology

Origin of carapace

1830–40; < French < Spanish carapacho, of obscure origin

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.

The suit -- called a carapace -- is about 70% complete and covers each major region of the body.

From Science Daily • Mar. 18, 2024

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

The fossil is partial, with a relatively complete carapace - the turtle's shell - but not the rest of the skeleton.

From Reuters • Sep. 28, 2023

The ice reflected his distorted shadow and the beam of wandlight, but deep below the thick, misty gray carapace, something else glinted.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

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.