Turtling

turtle + -ing

Full definition of turtling

Noun

1. The hunting of turtles (the reptiles).
2. (nautical) Turning turtle.
3. (figuratively) Any slow progression or build-up.
4. (computer games) A defensive strategy of avoiding conflict, usually in a fixed position.

Verb

1. Present participle of turtle

From turtle + -ling.

Noun

1. A baby turtle.
• 1912, William Vaughn Moody, The poems and plays of William Vaughn Moody:Drowsy with dawn, barely asail, Buzzes the blue-bottle over the shale, Scared from the pool by the leaping trout; And the brood of turtlings clamber out On the log by their oozy house.
• 1997, in Sportdiving (magazine), volumes 59–64, page 94:The turtle-lings, kept in safety until they are three months old, are then released into the wild.
• 2012, Alexandra de Vries, Shawn Blore, Frommer's Brazil:Fifty days later, more or less, the little turtlings hatch, dig their way up through the sand, and make a mad scramble to the sea.