noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The outermost layer of the skin of vertebrates; the epidermis.
2. 2
   hard outer covering or case of certain organisms such as arthropods and turtles wordnet
3. 3
   The strip of hardened skin at the base and sides of a fingernail or toenail.

   "By that time she has pushed back his cuticles, cleaned his nails and painted them with clear polish."

4. 4
   the outer layer of the skin covering the exterior body surface of vertebrates wordnet
5. 5
   Dead or cornified epidermis.

Show 4 more definitions

6. 6
   the dead skin at the base of a fingernail or toenail wordnet
7. 7
   A noncellular protective covering outside the epidermis of many invertebrates and plants.
8. 8
   A thin skin formed on the surface of a liquid.
9. 9
   A protective layer on the shell of a bird's egg.

Synonyms

All synonyms

buffcarapacecarapacecoatcuticuladermis

Example

More examples

"Desert plants coat themselves in a thick, waxy cuticle to keep in water."

Etymology

From Middle French cuticule, from Latin cuticula (“cuticle, skin”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.