carapace
noun
car·a·pace
| \ ˈker-ə-ˌpās
, ˈka-rə-\
, ˈka-rə-\
Definition of carapace
1
: a bony or chitinous case or shield covering the back or part of the back of an animal (such as a turtle or crab)
2
: a protective, decorative, or disguising shell
the carapace of reserve he built around himself— M. M. Mintz
Examples of carapace in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The domed carapace covering the back of the animal is connected to the flat plastron on the underside of the animal by a bridge of bone. — Hans-dieter Sues, Smithsonian, "How the Turtle Got Its Shell, With Apologies to Aesop," 20 Aug. 2019 There was the gigantic Raja, a large male loggerhead whose carapace measured 43 inches long. — John Christopher Fine, sun-sentinel.com, "Rejoice as turtles make their return | Opinion," 15 Aug. 2019 The cast dives headlong into this choreography’s extremes, which include precariously deep arches and hunched, carapace-like backs. — Janine Parker, BostonGlobe.com, "Two works by Martha Graham make the company’s EVE Project at Jacob’s Pillow transcendant," 16 Aug. 2019 Its body protected by an unusually large carapace covering almost the entire animal. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Scientists name new fossil species after Millennium Falcon from Star Wars," 3 Aug. 2019 The anatomy of the apex predator featured a carapace that covered its head, spinous processes, and eight pairs of lateral flaps that covered its trunk. — Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, "Ancient Anthropod Named After Star Wars' Millennium Falcon," 31 July 2019 The lobster’s carapace must be larger than 3 inches, located from between the horns to where the head meets the tail. — USA TODAY, "Leaping frogs, spiny lobsters, hostile roosters: News from around our 50 states," 26 July 2019 In all cases, the apes accessed the meat through the bottom of the carapace, breaking a part technically called the plastron. — Douglas Main, National Geographic, "In a first, chimpanzees seen smashing and eating tortoises," 23 May 2019 Uni has a tang of iodine, sometimes, and is always a treat for the eye, as rust-orange as the Golden Gate Bridge and protected by its carapace of spines (black-red or purple from the West Coast, sometimes green-tinged from the East). — Bill St. John, The Denver Post, "Preparing uni and lobster," 19 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'carapace.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for carapace
carapace
noun
English Language Learners Definition of carapace
technical
: a hard shell on the back of some animals (such as turtles or crabs)
See the full definition for carapace in the English Language Learners Dictionary