snapping turtle

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noun

either of two large, edible, freshwater turtles of the family Chelydridae, of North and Central America, having a large head and powerful hooked jaws, especially the common snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina.

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Compare alligator snapping turtle.

Origin of snapping turtle

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85

Words nearby snapping turtle

snapper, snapperback, snapper up, snapping beetle, snapping shrimp, snapping turtle, snappish, snappy, snap ring, snap roll, snapshoot

How to use snapping turtle in a sentence

The hooks on the end of final strokes indicate a tenacious mind that holds on to ideas and opinions as tight as a snapping turtle.
For Presidential Hopefuls, the Handwriting Says It All|Sheila Kurtz|January 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
H-tchoo-tc-knee, the Snapping Turtle; half-bred and well-educated man.
Adventures of the Ojibbeway and Ioway Indians in England, France, and Belgium; Vol. I (of 2)|George Catlin
I never saw anything funnier than those steers and a huge snapping turtle.
Old Rail Fence Corners|Various
Just ahead of us, under a blackberry bush, was a huge snapping-turtle.
The Jonathan Papers|Elisabeth Woodbridge Morris

Gilliam shone at cross-examination; he went at Tandy savagely, taking hold like a snapping turtle and hanging on like one.
Back Home|Irvin S. Cobb
Cope says that the Cretaceous of New Jersey alone affords twenty species, one of them a snapping turtle six feet in length.
The Story of the Earth and Man|J. W. Dawson

British Dictionary definitions for snapping turtle

snapping turtle

noun

any large aggressive North American river turtle of the family Chelydridae, esp Chelydra serpentina (common snapping turtle), having powerful hooked jaws and a rough shellAlso called: snapper

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