First recorded in 1350–1400.
Comes via Middle English from the Latin word tortuōsus, which derives from the verb torquēre, “to twist, bend.”
Sign up for more Word of the Day!

\r\nEXAMPLES OF TORTUOUS\r\n

The tortuous road through the mountains made for a challenging but scenic drive.
The author's writing style was known for its elegant prose and tortuous plot twists.

\r\nIt's National Poetry Month, and we’ve created a challenge that really is for everyone. Submit now!","audio":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/T03/T0390200.mp3","definitions":[{"partofspeech":"adjective","data":"full of twists, turns, or bends; twisting, winding, or crooked."}],"examples":[],"imageUrl":"https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/tortuous_IG.png","accentColor":"#0063D7"}},"status":"succeeded"}},"meta":{"requestId":"NquCOUEc5A02Y-rK42yW5","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"phraseologist","entry":"phraseologist"},{"slug":"phraseology","entry":"phraseology"},{"slug":"phrase-structure","entry":"phrase structure"},{"slug":"phrase-structure-grammar","entry":"phrase-structure grammar"},{"slug":"phrase-structure-rule","entry":"phrase-structure rule"}],"after":[{"slug":"phrasing","entry":"phrasing"},{"slug":"phratry","entry":"phratry"},{"slug":"phreak","entry":"phreak"},{"slug":"phreaking","entry":"phreaking"},{"slug":"phreatic","entry":"phreatic"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"phrase-structure-tree"},"requestId":"uBPdXeD-EAExrGn4mMxpp","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"phrase-structure-tree"},"requestId":"aSPDPGAdNkStnp4EVG2lQ","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[{"entries":[{"__typename":"Entry","audioPronunciations":[],"confusableNotes":[],"genderNotes":[],"grammarNotes":[],"headword":{"displayForm":"phrase structure tree","slug":"phrase-structure-tree"},"idioms":[],"orderKey":99999010,"ordinal":10,"origin":null,"partOfSpeechBlock":[{"definitions":[{"antonymsConnection":{"edges":[]},"definitionSetChunks":"[{\"text\": \"Linguistics.\", \"type\": \"label_set\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e72d090.-536b\"}, {\"type\": \"def\", \"children\": [{\"text\": \"a structural representation of a sentence in the form of an inverted tree, with each node of the tree labeled according to the phrasal constituent it represents.\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}]","examples":[],"ordinal":1,"subdefinitions":[],"synonymsConnection":{"edges":[]}}],"inflectionSets":[],"labelSet":null,"ordinal":1,"partOfSpeech":"noun"}],"pronunciationNotes":[],"pronunciationSet":null,"relatedFormSets":[],"sensitiveNotes":[],"spellingNotes":[],"synonymStudy":[],"usageAlerts":[],"usageNotes":[],"variants":[],"verbPhrases":[]}],"url":"phrase-structure-tree"}]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"phrase-structure-tree"},"requestId":"SNLpuqf9BVSn-dGpec5Iv","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"phrase-structure-tree","displayForm":"phrase structure tree","canonicalSlug":"phrase-structure-tree","content":[{"source":"luna","entries":[{"id":"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e72d090.-5376","type":"normal","entry":"phrase structure tree","entrySyllabified":"phrase structure tree","entryVariants":[],"homograph":null,"pronunciation":null,"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"Linguistics.","postdefinitionContent":"","definition":"a structural representation of a sentence in the form of an inverted tree, with each node of the tree labeled according to the phrasal constituent it represents.","synonyms":"","antonyms":"","cites":[]}],"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":""}],"origin":null,"originData":null,"supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"variantSpellings":[],"referenceData":["Compare tree diagram. "],"relatedForms":[],"confusables":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":117699,"index-rank-01":["phrase structure tree"],"index-rank-02":[],"index-rank-03":[],"index-rank-04":["phrase structure tree's","phrase structure trees","phrase structure trees'"],"index-rank-05":[],"index-rank-06":[],"index-rank-07":[],"index-rank-08":[],"index-rank-09":[],"index-rank-10":[],"index-rank-11":[],"index-rank-12":[],"index-rank-13":[],"index-rank-14":[],"index-rank-15":[],"complexityScore":0.2289011555965436,"gradeLevel":"high_school","tunaSlug":null,"isFeaturedMetaSlug":false}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"phrase-structure-tree"},"requestId":"sr9NvV3FULMIIWxSJyPH3","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":[],"tuna":[],"lunaWithSlug":[],"tunaWithSlug":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"phrase-structure-tree"},"requestId":"ARqtWIhhVBDHeEcru7NQ-","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

phrase structure tree

noun

Word of the Day