cuticle
Americannoun
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cuticles
plural
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the nonliving epidermis that surrounds the edges of the fingernail or toenail.
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the epidermis.
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a superficial integument, membrane, or the like.
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Also called cuticula. Zoology. the outer, noncellular layer of the arthropod integument, composed of a mixture of chitin and protein and commonly containing other hardening substances as well.
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Botany. a very thin hyaline film covering the surface of plants, derived from the outer surfaces of the epidermal cells.
noun
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dead skin, esp that round the base of a fingernail or toenail
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another name for epidermis
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any covering layer or membrane
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the protective layer, containing cutin, that covers the epidermis of higher plants
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the hard protective layer covering the epidermis of many invertebrates
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The noncellular, hardened or membranous protective covering of many invertebrates, such as the transparent membrane that covers annelids.
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A layer of wax and cutin that covers the outermost surfaces of a plant. The cuticle is secreted by the epidermis and helps prevent water loss and infection by parasites.
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The hard skin around the sides and base of a fingernail or toenail.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cuticle
1605–15; < Latin cutīcula the skin, equivalent to cuti ( s ) skin, cutis + -cula -cle 1
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.
See Examples For:
Their analysis revealed a strong negative correlation between cuticle volume and colony size.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 10, 2026
Except for one picked cuticle on a fingernail, which was ever so slightly rimmed with blood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025
Malice follows suit, assuring “Your lucky streak is now losing you / Money’s dried up like a cuticle / You’re gasping for air now, it’s beautiful.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2025
In insects, specific genes became specialised in muscles and in the epidermis for cuticle formation, contributing to their ability to fly.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2024
“Well, it is the truth,” Liz says, gnawing on a cuticle.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
While thinner cuticles leave individual ants more vulnerable, the authors suggest this tradeoff may actually encourage the growth of large societies.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 22, 2025
"Remy hair has aligned cuticles, hair flows uniformly in one direction, which leads to less tangling and a silkier texture. This is high-value hair," says George Cherion, the company's chief executive.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2025
The Outset Botanical Barrier Rescue Balm started out as a lip balm but I was using it on my cuticles and flyaways, so we made it enormous.
From New York Times ● May 9, 2024
But at that time, the gland only made a fatty acid solvent similar to the hydrocarbons that almost all insects make in their cuticles to prevent desiccation and to communicate chemically.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 27, 2023
In the winter he used oil to prevent chapping, and he kept the cuticles pushed down and his nails always filed to the shape of his finger-tips.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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.
