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

The observed animals are olive ridley sea turtles, a small sea turtle species that can grow up to 100 pounds and 3 feet in length.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Designed by Gaudí, the Nativity façade is both naturalistic and overflowing with natural imagery: lilies and palm trees, a tortoise and sea turtle, insects and frogs, sheep and ducks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Kemp's ridleys are the rarest sea turtle in the world, and lay their eggs on only two beaches in Mexico and in Texas, USA.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

Then his eye focused on the enormous shape of a sea turtle struggling out of the sea and ponderously making its way up the sand.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

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