Carapace
English Meaning
The thick shell or shield which covers the back of the tortoise, or turtle, the crab, and other crustaceous animals.
- Zoology A hard bony or chitinous outer covering, such as the fused dorsal plates of a turtle or the portion of the exoskeleton covering the head and thorax of a crustacean.
- A protective, shell-like covering likened to that of a turtle or crustacean: "He used to worry that Sarah would age the same way, develop the same brittle carapace” ( Anne Tyler).