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• grapevine
  grapevine

  noun

  a vine that bears grapes.
• Grapevine
  Grapevine

  noun

  a town in N Texas.

grapevine

¹ American  

[grayp-vahyn] / ˈgreɪpˌvaɪn /

noun

• grapevines
  plural

1. a vine that bears grapes.

2. Also called grapevine telegraph. a person-to-person method of spreading rumors, gossip, information, etc., by informal or unofficial conversation, letter writing, or the like.

3. a private or secret source of information.

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Grapevine ² American  

[grayp-vahyn] / ˈgreɪpˌvaɪn /

noun

1. a town in N Texas.

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grapevine British  

/ ˈɡreɪpˌvaɪn /

noun

1. any of several vitaceous vines of the genus Vitis, esp V. vinifera of E Asia, widely cultivated for its fruit (grapes): family Vitaceae

2. informal an unofficial means of relaying information, esp from person to person

3. a wrestling hold in which a wrestler entwines his own leg around his opponent's and exerts pressure against various joints

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• grapevines
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of grapevine

1645–55; 1860–65, grapevine for def. 2; grape + vine

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Explanation

The grapevine is a word for gossip. Anything heard on the grapevine was learned by word of mouth. In the Civil War, a grapevine telegraph was a gadget used for communicating. From there, people started talking about "the grapevine" as a source of information, especially gossip. If you heard from a friend of a friend that another friend is getting married, you heard it on the grapevine. If your cousin's cousin told you about a family scandal, you heard it on the grapevine. The grapevine is unofficial and full of hearsay: what you hear might not be accurate.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grapevine Grapevine grapevines

Pans heave with labor-intensive dishes like çalkama, a Turkish pastry, and yaprak sarma, grapevine leaves filled by hand with a mixture of rice, onions, tomatoes and herbs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

"Online patient communities work a lot like a neighborhood grapevine," says Ungar.

From Science Daily ● May 24, 2026

Some reporters have gotten Trump’s digits through the grapevine or from colleagues; at least one simply asked him.

From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2026

The vase is a rare underglaze decorated with two squirrels hiding in a fruiting grapevine.

From BBC ● May 11, 2025

Through the Dinka grapevine, I knew I had an uncle, my mother’s brother, in Kakuma, even though I had never met him.

From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau

The partially-submerged vehicle was removed from near the shoreline of the south side of the lake, with the Grapevine Fire Department Water Rescue Team assisting police in the operation.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

The event, organized by the American Conservative Union, launched with an international summit on March 25, 2026, and runs through March 28 in Grapevine, Texas.

From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2026

While attending Grapevine High School, he quickly became known as “Most Likely to Be Famous,” according to his classmates.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 18, 2026

The alert system puts in place precautions including around-the-clock maintenance of the roadway and possible closure and detours around the Grapevine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026

On the other side of Grapevine Canyon there is a mountain range which has much pine.

From Colonial Expeditions to the Interior of California Central Valley, 1800-1820 Anthropological Records 16(6):239-292, 1958 by Sherburne Friend Cook

UIV president Lamberto Frescobaldi, a 33rd-generation Tuscan winegrower, said he was also open to the idea of removing old or unviable grapevines.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

Just 50 miles from the thriving Somerset grapevines, Phil Collins shows me a much sadder sight.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

"I think this decline is very regrettable," Tariq Lenny Bas, who grew up among the grapevines of western Austria, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

The nursery is famous for its grapevines and root stock of almond, walnut and pistachio, which are sold to farmers, commercial growers and retail nurseries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2024

I spend the next hour tripping over my feet, trying to keep up with the endless grapevines and turns as we all weave in and out of one another.

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

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