turtle

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of various aquatic or terrestrial 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(or Chelonia), having horny toothless jaws and a bony or leathery shell into which the head, limbs, and tail can be withdrawn in most species.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. n. Chiefly British A sea turtle.
3. v. To hunt for turtles, especially as an occupation.
4. v. Nautical To capsize.
5. n. Archaic A turtledove.
6. n. A turtleneck.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A turtle-dove.
2. n. A tortoise; any chelonian or testudinate; any member of the Chelonia or Testudinata (see the technical names); especially, a marine tortoise, provided with flippers; absolutely, the green turtle, as Chelonia midas (see cut below), highly esteemed for soup. See cuts referred to under tortoise, also cuts under Aspidonectes, Eretmochelys, periotic, Pleurospondylia, slider, and stinkpot.
3. n. The detachable segment of the cylinder of a rotary printing-machine which contains the types or plates to be printed: so called from its curved surface. In practice, the turtle is removed from the machine to the type-setting room. The types are made up on the curved surface, and firmly held in place by rebated column-rules, thicker at the top than at the bottom, and firmly grooved in the turtle. When the types have been locked up by screws on the turtle, they can be placed on the machine for printing without risk of falling out, or they can be molded in thin curved form by the papier-màché process, and the curved plate made therefrom can be used in printing. The stereotype method is preferred.
4. n. (See also alligator-turtle, land turtle, mud-turtle, sea-turtle, snapping-turtle.)
5. To pursue or capture turtles; make a practice or business of taking turtles.

Wiktionary

1. n. Any land or marine reptile of the order Testudines, characterised by a protective shell enclosing its body.
2. n. Australia, UK A sea turtle.
3. n. military An Ancient Roman attack method, where the shields held by the soldiers hide them, not only left, right, front and back, but also from above.
4. n. computing A type of robot having a domed case (and so resembling the reptile), used in education, especially for making line drawings by means of a computer program.
5. n. computing An on-screen cursor that serves the same function as a turtle for drawing.
6. n. printing, historical The curved plate in which the form is held in a type-revolving cylinder press.
7. v. To flip over onto the back or top; to turn upside down.
8. v. To turn and swim upside down.
9. v. To hunt turtles, especially in the water.
10. v. video games To build up a large defense force and strike only punctually, rather than going for an offensive strategy.
11. n. archaic A turtle dove.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Zoöl.) The turtledove.
2. n. (Zoöl.) Any one of the numerous species of Testudinata, especially a sea turtle, or chelonian.
3. n. (Printing) The curved plate in which the form is held in a type-revolving cylinder press.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. hunt for turtles, especially as an occupation
2. n. any of various aquatic and land reptiles having a bony shell and flipper-like limbs for swimming
3. n. a sweater or jersey with a high close-fitting collar
4. v. overturn accidentally