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

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

To spy green sea and hawksbill turtles nesting, visit from July through October. —AFAR Media, 11 July 2025

The hawksbill turtle, for instance, has declined so drastically that only 57,000 to 83,000 individuals remain worldwide. —Dianne Plummer, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025

Seven species of sea turtles — including loggerhead, green, and hawksbill turtles — nest and hatch on the powder-fine sands of Longboat Key from May through October. —Terry Ward, Travel + Leisure, 15 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1712, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hawksbill turtle

• infertile
• fertile
• hurtle
• kirtle
• myrtle