HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
n. 1. Any of various aquatic or terrestrial egg-laying reptiles of the order Testudines (or Chelonia), having horny toothless jaws and a bony or leathery shell into which the head, limbs, and tail can be withdrawn in most species. 2. Any of various members of this order that live in fresh or brackish water, in contrast to the terrestrial tortoises. 3. Chiefly British A sea turtle. 4. The flesh of certain turtles, used for food. intr.v. tur·tled, tur·tling, tur·tles 1. To hunt for turtles, especially as an occupation. 2. Nautical To capsize. [Alteration (influenced by TURTLE2) of Middle English tortu, from Old French tortue, ultimately (probably with influence from Old French tortu, crooked, and tordu, twisted, from the shape of its legs) from Vulgar Latin *tartarūca, feminine of *tartarūcus, of Tartarus (the turtle being a symbol of the forces of darkness in early Christian iconography), from Late Latin tartarūchus, from Late Greek tartaroukhos, occupying Tartarus : Tartaros, Tartarus + ekhein, to hold; see EUNUCH.] turtler n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. Archaic A turtledove. [Middle English, from Old English, from Latin turtur, probably of imitative origin.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. A turtleneck. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
