[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/tortoise/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [T](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/t/) / tortoise

# tortoise

noun (tortoise, tortoises)

«tortoise» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A tortoise is a slow animal with a hard, high shell that lives on land and can pull its head and legs inside the shell. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tortoise/#m1)
2. Tortoises can live a very long time, some more than 100 years. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tortoise/#m2)

### In the lessons

Maths: an animal counted; often slow speed, age or a race: distance = speed × time. Science: tortoises are reptiles; they eat plants; tortoise (land) vs turtle (mostly water). Stories: «The Tortoise and the Hare» — slow and steady wins the race.

### Examples

- The zoo has 5 tortoises. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tortoise/#x1)
- A tortoise walks 2 meters a minute. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tortoise/#x2)
- The tortoise is 80 years old. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tortoise/#x3)
- The hare ran 10 times as fast as the tortoise. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tortoise/#x4)
- In the story, the slow tortoise won the race. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tortoise/#x5)
- Giant tortoises live on the Galapagos Islands. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tortoise/#x6)
- Our pet tortoise sleeps all winter in a box of straw. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tortoise/#x7)
- The Tortoise was very glad indeed. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tortoise/#x8)

### Note

Countable: a tortoise, tortoises; said «TOR-tus». The thing counted or a mover with a speed; distance = speed × time. Trap: a tortoise lives on land; a turtle lives mostly in water (in the US people may call both turtles).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «tortoise» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tortoise/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«tortoise» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/tortoise.html) on Mova free.