Words / A1

TORT-uh-s/ˈtɔːtəs/

A tortoise is a slow animal with a hard shell that lives on land and eats plants. Countable: a tortoise, tortoises. A turtle lives more in the sea or in water and is a better swimmer; a snail is tiny and has a soft body. British English keeps this land/sea difference. Not tortuous (a hard later word for twisting).

Meaning

A slow animal with a hard shell that lives on land.

Examples

• “The tortoise is eating a leaf.”
• “The tortoise hid inside its shell.”
• “Our class tortoise is called Slowcoach.”

Good to know

a tortoise (land, slow). Contrast: turtle (water), snail (tiny). Place: garden, tank.

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