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green turtle
noun
: a large usually herbivorous sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) of warm waters with a smooth greenish or olive-colored shell
Examples of green turtle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Spot curious sea lions and blue-footed boobies on Mosquera, land iguanas on South Plaza Island, and prowling black-tip reef sharks and green turtles off pristine-white beaches.
—Kerry Spencer, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Dec. 2023
Something identifiable in the air Liam Whitmore is a zoologist and conservationist who studies green turtles.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 16 May 2023
Endangered loggerhead, hawksbill, and green turtles still make their home in the national park.
—Latria Graham, Travel + Leisure, 19 Jan. 2024
So far this year, staff at the aquarium’s sea turtle hospital have treated 214 total sea turtles, a number that includes 189 Kemp’s ridleys, 19 green turtles and six loggerheads.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Dec. 2023
Steeped in local lore and alternatively known as the Carib Ghost, this wreck site is home to stingrays, green turtles, and lobsters.
—Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 4 Sep. 2023
Human activity such as poaching, collisions with boats, habitat destruction and accidental capture in fishing gear have led to steep declines in green turtle populations over the last century.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 12 Nov. 2023
In the 1980s, those numbers were even smaller, with just five or 10 green turtle nests in one year, Cohen said.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2023
Visitors to the Clearwater aquarium watched the light green turtle with a healing shell swim happily with its peers.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'green turtle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1657, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near green turtle
Cite this Entry
“Green turtle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/green%20turtle. Accessed 16 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
green turtle
noun
: a large usually plant-eating sea turtle with a smooth greenish shell
More from Merriam-Webster on green turtle
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about green turtle
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