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• grapevine
  grapevine

  noun

  a vine that bears grapes.
• Grapevine
  Grapevine

  noun

  a town in N Texas.

grapevine

¹ American  

[greyp-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  

[greyp-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

Etymology

Origin of grapevine

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

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

Again, no one knows for sure, but the grapevine says that Mercedes are ahead.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2025

At the upper end of the little valley was the grapevine sprawled over its man-made arbor.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

"We wouldn't encourage willingly driving your vehicle into the water," said Katharina Gamboa of the Grapevine Police Department, in comments reported by the BBC's US news partner CBS News.

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

Officials warn snow could accumulate over Interstate 5 along the Grapevine and on Interstate 15 at the summit of the Cajon Pass, prompting possible road closures or delays.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 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

He discovered one day a cow-path between Daker's and an old Mill at Grapevine Bridge.

From Campaigns of a Non-Combatant, and His Romaunt Abroad During the War by George Alfred Townsend

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 parachutes floated down toward the coastline, not far from a cluster of makeshift tents, grapevines, fig trees and the outer edge of residential buildings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2025

In the Bakersfield area, where a recent Border Patrol operation lasted for days and led to dozens of arrests, Paula Flores voiced worries about deportation as she pruned a row of grapevines.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2025

She wanted him to tell her why her grapevines had dried up.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye