entwine
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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entwinesimple
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entwinessimple
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have entwinedperfect
-
has entwinedperfect
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am entwiningprogressive
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are entwiningprogressive
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is entwiningprogressive
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have been entwiningperfect progressive
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has been entwiningperfect progressive
Past
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entwinedsimple
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had entwinedperfect
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was entwiningprogressive
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were entwiningprogressive
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had been entwiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of entwine
Explanation
To entwine is to twist and tangle or weave together. When you hold hands with someone, you entwine your fingers together. A long-haired girl can entwine flowers in her curls, and she might love it when her pet snake entwines around her arm. When you knit a scarf, you entwine different colors of yarn together. There is also a figurative way to entwine: "Ever since I met you, I knew that our lives would entwine together!" Entwine combines the prefix en-, "make," and twine, "twisted strands," from the Old English twin, "double thread."
Vocabulary lists containing entwine
Stamped
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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The Last Olympian
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And so it goes in “The Last Kings of Hollywood,” as the lives and ambitions of Messrs. Coppola, Lucas and Spielberg entwine around one another in a triple helix.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026
On the surface, they entail a diplomatic entente among nations, while at a deeper level they entwine themselves within the cultures, commerce and values of countless societies.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2024
On “The Sphinx,” their two voices entwine in an off-kilter unison, Cherry’s pocket cornet doubling Coleman’s plastic saxophone.
From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2024
Ms Yellen too has made clear that severing the deep economic ties that now entwine the US and Chinese economies would hurt everyone.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2023
Here may it wave, our boast, our pride And join in love together The thistle, shamrock, rose entwine The Maple Leaf forever.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
It entwines with healthy cells, meaning it can't be removed surgically.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2023
The wrap visually entwines the culture, community and colours of Notting Hill Carnival and the 75-year history of Windrush, TfL said.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2023
What entwines Parsons and Joshua Tree is not only his death there but also what followed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2023
Yehoshua masterfully entwines social commentary with a portrait of a mind in decline.
From New York Times ● Aug. 27, 2020
My green cloud entwines with his silver one, and I feel the recent tension between us lift a little.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
She came to both practices — spiritual companionship and archery — separately before they organically entwined.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Raves have become entwined with D&B’s push to boost its numbers, a way the company is trying to distinguish itself in the ubercompetitive “eatertainment” landscape that it helped create.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Kraft Heinz and Berkshire, its largest shareholder, have been deeply entwined since the food company’s creation over a decade ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
The military is deeply entwined in the government, with generals in charge of various functions throughout society.
From Salon ● Jan. 6, 2026
Mingo’s daughters wore bright blue dresses, their long pigtails entwined with white ribbons.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
The message harked back to the old U.S. policy of further entwining the American and Chinese economies, breaking with an approach pioneered during the first Trump administration to untangle business ties, largely for national-security reasons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Pets and humans have ever-broader options for entwining their daily lives, routines and milestone moments.
From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2025
In the adept lithograph “Angels and Airplanes,” Russia’s Natalia Goncharova gives her blessing to the erupting conflagration by entwining unearthly militarism and Orthodox religiosity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
In an intimate theater at Gibney, they ignited a conversation among their percussive dance traditions, three distinct but entwining modes of making music with the ground.
From New York Times ● Dec. 2, 2022
Mum Olga sighed, entwining her arm in his.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
