cuticle

American  

[kyoo-ti-kuhl] / ˈkju tɪ kəl /

noun

• cuticles
  plural

1. the nonliving epidermis that surrounds the edges of the fingernail or toenail.

2. the epidermis.

3. a superficial integument, membrane, or the like.

4. 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.

5. Botany. a very thin hyaline film covering the surface of plants, derived from the outer surfaces of the epidermal cells.

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cuticle British  

/ ˈkjuːtɪkəl /

noun

1. dead skin, esp that round the base of a fingernail or toenail

2. another name for epidermis

3. any covering layer or membrane

4. the protective layer, containing cutin, that covers the epidermis of higher plants

5. the hard protective layer covering the epidermis of many invertebrates

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cuticle Scientific  

/ kyo̅o̅′tĭ-kəl /

1. The noncellular, hardened or membranous protective covering of many invertebrates, such as the transparent membrane that covers annelids.

2. 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.

3. The hard skin around the sides and base of a fingernail or toenail.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cuticular
  adjective
• subcuticular
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cuticles
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cuticle

1605–15; < Latin cutīcula the skin, equivalent to cuti ( s ) skin, cutis + -cula -cle ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cuticle cuticles

Since leaves are costly in materials and energy, plants sculpt them to withstand wind and coat them with a waxy cuticle to repel water.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

"You still do the cuticle, you do the soaking and hydrate everything," says Buddemeier, "but you just put no polish on."

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Making a thicker cuticle uses more of these resources, which could restrict how many individuals a colony can support.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 22, 2025

Except for one picked cuticle on a fingernail, which was ever so slightly rimmed with blood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025

I look at my nail where my cuticle hangs off, stinging and pink.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

He said he had been using a microscope to analyse the cuticles, and different layers of the bear's fur as well as its DNA.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

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

In addition to shelly components, it contains extremely rare soft elements such as digestive systems and cuticles, in a remarkable state of preservation.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 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

I look at our hands, her smooth one, the nails pale moons, mine with its uttered cuticles, its skin of incipient toad.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

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