Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tortoise-shell

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.23 in modern English

Syllables: tor-toise-shell
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Alternative form of tortoiseshell.

Uncountable

adj

Alternative form of tortoiseshell.

Example Sentences

"The same nervous staccato laugh broke from her thin lips, and her fingers began to play with a long tortoise-shell paper-knife."

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

tortoise-shells (plural)

Questions

What does tortoise-shell mean?: Alternative form of tortoiseshell.

How to pronounce tortoise-shell

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tortoise-shell”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tortoise-shell”.
Repeat and practice — Say “tortoise-shell” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.