Phrase guide

gopher tortoise

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of the species of the taxonomic genus Gopherus, which are burrowing tortoises of southern North America.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

burrowing edible land tortoise of southeastern North America

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: gopher turtle, gopher, Gopherus polypemus

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tortoise

History

Etymology

By surface analysis, gopher (“burrowing rodent”, compare translingual Gopherus) + tortoise.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 穴龜 /穴龟 (xuéguī) — individual of the genus Gopherus of tortoises
  • Dutch: gopherschildpad — individual of the genus Gopherus of tortoises
  • French: gophère — individual of the genus Gopherus of tortoises
  • German: Gopherschildkröte — individual of the genus Gopherus of tortoises
  • Hungarian: üregteknős — individual of the genus Gopherus of tortoises
  • Russian: го́фер (gófer) — individual of the genus Gopherus of tortoises
  • Swedish: goffersköldpadda — individual of the genus Gopherus of tortoises
  • Ukrainian: го́фер (hófer) — individual of the genus Gopherus of tortoises