cuticle.

1. An outer protective layer on the body of some animals, especially invertebrates.

2. The thin band of skin around the base of a fingernail or toenail.

3. A thin, waxy protective covering on a plant's leaves or other outer parts.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• an insect cuticle
• a rigid cuticle

On the page

The larva's flexible cuticle darkened as it approached the next stage.

Usage notes

Primary category: sci-fi. Forms: Singular cuticle; plural cuticles. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description, setting. Commonness: moderately common.