Illustration of snapping turtle
- snapping turtle a
snapping turtle
noun
: either of two large American freshwater turtles (family Chelydridae) with a large head, powerful jaws, a long tail, and a strong musky odor:
a
: one (Chelydra serpentina) that has the head covered with smooth skin, has large plates in a double row on the underside of the tail, and is distributed from eastern Canada to Central America
b
: alligator snapping turtle
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Occasionally, a beady-eyed muskrat surfaces on the lake, or a snapping turtle lazily sinks deeper. 
BostonGlobe.com, 29 Aug. 2022 Race officials responded by introducing a snapping turtle into the pre-race holding pen in the hospital’s courtyard. Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 4 Aug. 2022 Lamb explained that the snapping turtle spends the warmer months in that pond before hibernating in a pond next to the police station. Ian Lenahan, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2022 In mid-November, less than two months after his surgeries, the Center for Wildlife team placed the snapping turtle in water for the first time since it was hit. Ian Lenahan, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2022 Eliot: After fending off death, a critically injured common snapping turtle that became a viral sensation after being struck by a motorist last year has been released back into the wild. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 28 Apr. 2022 In the midst of the story is a snapping turtle that may be hundreds of years old, if age and time actually exist in this place. Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2022 And, most importantly, how did this snapping turtle friend end up roaming around Baltimore City?! Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 25 Jan. 2022 The spill, more than 20 times bigger than the Exxon Valdez oil disaster, oozed into yards and streams for miles, suffocating every frog, fish and snapping turtle in its path and contaminating the county’s drinking water. New York Times, 2 Jan. 2022 See More
BostonGlobe.com, 29 Aug. 2022 Race officials responded by introducing a snapping turtle into the pre-race holding pen in the hospital’s courtyard. Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 4 Aug. 2022 Lamb explained that the snapping turtle spends the warmer months in that pond before hibernating in a pond next to the police station. Ian Lenahan, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2022 In mid-November, less than two months after his surgeries, the Center for Wildlife team placed the snapping turtle in water for the first time since it was hit. Ian Lenahan, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2022 Eliot: After fending off death, a critically injured common snapping turtle that became a viral sensation after being struck by a motorist last year has been released back into the wild. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 28 Apr. 2022 In the midst of the story is a snapping turtle that may be hundreds of years old, if age and time actually exist in this place. Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2022 And, most importantly, how did this snapping turtle friend end up roaming around Baltimore City?! Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 25 Jan. 2022 The spill, more than 20 times bigger than the Exxon Valdez oil disaster, oozed into yards and streams for miles, suffocating every frog, fish and snapping turtle in its path and contaminating the county’s drinking water. New York Times, 2 Jan. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1784, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
snapping turtle
noun
snap·ping tur·tle
ˌsna-piŋ-ˈtər-tᵊl
: a large American turtle that catches its prey with a snap of the powerful jaws