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turtleback

[ tur-tl-bak ]
/ ˈtɜr tlˌbæk /
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noun
Archaeology. tortoise-core.
Furniture. an oval or elliptical boss.
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Origin of turtleback

First recorded in 1880–85; turtle1 + back1

Words nearby turtleback

turret lathe, turrical, turriculate, Tursha, turtle, turtleback, turtledove, turtlehead, turtleneck, turtlet, turves
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use turtleback in a sentence

  • The chief and his crew had just reached the deck when the black shining turtleback of the submarine broke water.

    Cappy Ricks Retires|Peter B. Kyne

  • Because of its shape, Singer company brochures of the 1920s referred to it as the Turtleback Machine.

    The Invention of the Sewing Machine|Grace Rogers Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for turtleback

turtleback
/ (ˈtɜːtəlˌbæk) /
noun
an arched projection over the upper deck of a ship at the bow and sometimes at the stern for protection in heavy seas
(now obsolete in archaeological usage) a crude convex stone axe
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
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