hawksbill turtle

noun

hawks·​bill turtle ˈhȯks-ˌbil- 

variants or hawksbill

: a small- to medium-sized sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) of warm waters that has a narrow hawk-like beak, an upper shell of overlapping horny plates, and usually two claws on each forelimb

Note: The hawksbill turtle feeds chiefly on sponges. Its mottled brownish upper shell was used especially formerly to produce tortoiseshell.

Illustration of hawksbill turtle

Examples of hawksbill turtle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Siaba Besar is well-suited to newer snorkelers, thanks to its sheltered reefs, gentler currents, and frequent green and hawksbill turtle sightings. — Sarah Bruning, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2026

Among other damage, the oil can essentially suffocate mangrove trees, interfere with hawksbill turtles’ and green sea turtles’ sense of smell that guides their navigation, and prevent fish from reproducing. — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 14 May 2026

The island’s more disheveled beach, Pasture Bay (a hawksbill turtle nesting haven from June until November), is fringed by wayward bushes and wildflowers—a scene, one imagines, not far removed from the one Christopher Columbus sailed into in 1463. — Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026

Nature Society Singapore has meanwhile expressed a range of environmental concerns, including the impact of land reclamation on the area’s horseshoe crabs, hawksbill turtles and nesting Malaysian plovers. — Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 23 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1712, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hawksbill turtle

• infertile
• fertile
• hurtle
• kirtle
• myrtle