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":"ZBoZdlEPAaW-xx61GyyQi","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"pretty-much","entry":"pretty much"},{"slug":"pretty-pretty","entry":"pretty-pretty"},{"slug":"pretty-privilege","entry":"pretty privilege"},{"slug":"pretypify","entry":"pretypify"},{"slug":"pretzel","entry":"pretzel"}],"after":[{"slug":"preussen","entry":"Preussen"},{"slug":"prev","entry":"prev."},{"slug":"prevail","entry":"prevail"},{"slug":"prevailance","entry":"prevailance"},{"slug":"prevailing","entry":"prevailing"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"pre-u"},"requestId":"XszIrylGuxjsQdF8VGeNQ","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"pre-u"},"requestId":"neFpD0WOetFAJPjvQReo5","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[{"entries":[{"__typename":"CollinsEntry","headword":{"displayForm":"Pre-U","slug":"pre-u"},"homonym":null,"note":null,"origin":null,"partOfSpeechGroups":[{"definitions":[{"crossReferencesConnection":{"edges":[]},"definitionSetChunks":"[{\"type\": \"defgrp\", \"children\": [{\"text\": \"(in Britain) a public examination for secondary school pupils wishing to enter university, offered as an alternative to A level\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}]","examples":[],"idiom":null,"ordinal":1,"sense":null,"subdefinitions":[]}],"ordinal":1,"partOfSpeech":"noun"}],"pronunciations":[],"subEntry":[]}],"url":"pre-u"}]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"pre-u"},"requestId":"txEepojvMGTdbMf8sYBPa","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"pre-u","displayForm":"Pre-U","canonicalSlug":"pre-u","content":[{"source":"collins","entries":[{"id":"ad7f72f31.6bfb.1014.b87b.c2803370a23a.1","type":"normal","entry":"Pre-U","entrySyllabified":null,"entryVariants":"","homograph":null,"pronunciation":{"audio":null,"spell":null,"ipa":""},"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":"","definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"","definition":"(in Britain) a public examination for secondary school pupils wishing to enter university, offered as an alternative to A level","postdefinitionContent":""}]}],"origin":"","supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"derivedForms":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":122951,"index-rank-01":["pre-u"],"index-rank-02":[],"index-rank-03":[],"index-rank-04":[],"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":[],"tunaSlug":null,"isFeaturedMetaSlug":false}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"pre-u"},"requestId":"inS1fcSLB0r2NTlkQ3844","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":["PRW","Paré","Pire","pare","pore","pre-","pree","prey","pure","pyre","père","PER","per","PR","Pr","pr","PrEP","Pres","pee","prem","prep","prez","PTE","Pte","ore","öre","PE","RE","Re","pe","re","PRA","PRO","Pr.","Pro","pr.","pro","pry","CPRE","'re","P&E","PIE","POE","PPE","PRB","PRC","PRF","PRK","PRM","PRP"],"tuna":["pare","pore","prey","pure","pyre","per","PR","pee","prek","prem","prep","prez","ore","PE","re","pro","pry","pie","prs","are","ere","ire","pre k","pre-K"],"lunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"PRW","slug":"prw"},{"displayForm":"Paré","slug":"pare"},{"displayForm":"Pire","slug":"pire"},{"displayForm":"pare","slug":"pare"},{"displayForm":"pore","slug":"pore"},{"displayForm":"pre-","slug":"p-r-e-"},{"displayForm":"pree","slug":"pree"},{"displayForm":"prey","slug":"prey"},{"displayForm":"pure","slug":"pure"},{"displayForm":"pyre","slug":"pyre"},{"displayForm":"père","slug":"pere"},{"displayForm":"PER","slug":"per"},{"displayForm":"per","slug":"per"},{"displayForm":"PR","slug":"pr"},{"displayForm":"Pr","slug":"pr"},{"displayForm":"pr","slug":"pr"},{"displayForm":"PrEP","slug":"prep"},{"displayForm":"Pres","slug":"pres"},{"displayForm":"pee","slug":"pee"},{"displayForm":"prem","slug":"prem"},{"displayForm":"prep","slug":"prep"},{"displayForm":"prez","slug":"prez"},{"displayForm":"PTE","slug":"pte"},{"displayForm":"Pte","slug":"pte"},{"displayForm":"ore","slug":"ore"},{"displayForm":"öre","slug":"ore"},{"displayForm":"PE","slug":"pe"},{"displayForm":"RE","slug":"re"},{"displayForm":"Re","slug":"re"},{"displayForm":"pe","slug":"pe"},{"displayForm":"re","slug":"re"},{"displayForm":"PRA","slug":"pra"},{"displayForm":"PRO","slug":"pro"},{"displayForm":"Pr.","slug":"pr"},{"displayForm":"Pro","slug":"pro"},{"displayForm":"pr.","slug":"pr"},{"displayForm":"pro","slug":"pro"},{"displayForm":"pry","slug":"pry"},{"displayForm":"CPRE","slug":"cpre"},{"displayForm":"'re","slug":"re"},{"displayForm":"P&E","slug":"p-and-e"},{"displayForm":"PIE","slug":"pie"},{"displayForm":"POE","slug":"poe"},{"displayForm":"PPE","slug":"ppe"},{"displayForm":"PRB","slug":"prb"},{"displayForm":"PRC","slug":"prc"},{"displayForm":"PRF","slug":"prf"},{"displayForm":"PRK","slug":"prk"},{"displayForm":"PRM","slug":"prm"},{"displayForm":"PRP","slug":"prp"}],"tunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"pare","slug":"pare"},{"displayForm":"pore","slug":"pore"},{"displayForm":"prey","slug":"prey"},{"displayForm":"pure","slug":"pure"},{"displayForm":"pyre","slug":"pyre"},{"displayForm":"per","slug":"per"},{"displayForm":"PR","slug":"pr"},{"displayForm":"pee","slug":"pee"},{"displayForm":"prek","slug":"prek"},{"displayForm":"prem","slug":"prem"},{"displayForm":"prep","slug":"prep"},{"displayForm":"prez","slug":"prez"},{"displayForm":"ore","slug":"ore"},{"displayForm":"PE","slug":"pe"},{"displayForm":"re","slug":"re"},{"displayForm":"pro","slug":"pro"},{"displayForm":"pry","slug":"pry"},{"displayForm":"pie","slug":"pie"},{"displayForm":"prs","slug":"prs"},{"displayForm":"are","slug":"are"},{"displayForm":"ere","slug":"ere"},{"displayForm":"ire","slug":"ire"},{"displayForm":"pre k","slug":"pre%20k"},{"displayForm":"pre-K","slug":"pre-k"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"pre-u"},"requestId":"A4esY5OIkoeTIe5HJ9ifI","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

Pre-U

noun

Word of the Day