sea turtle

American  

noun

• sea turtles
  plural

1. any of several large turtles of the families Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical seas, having the limbs modified into paddlelike flippers: all sea turtles are either threatened or endangered through most of their range because of ocean pollution.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sea turtles
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of sea turtle

First recorded in 1670–80

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sea turtle

Last year, the green sea turtle became the first marine turtle to have its protection status downgraded from "endangered" to "least concern", after 50 years of conservation work in about 80 countries.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Sea turtles have been sighted laying eggs on the sand in Huntington Beach — the first known instance of a sea turtle of any species spontaneously nesting on the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Rhossi is the fourth sea turtle to be rescued and rehabilitated by the zoo over the past decade.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

Pancake, the super-rare sea turtle, returns to the NYC waters.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

She looks up from doodling a sea turtle on her folder and her smile freezes.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

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