grapevine

[greyp-vahyn]

See more synonyms for grapevine on Thesaurus.com

noun

a vine that bears grapes.
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.
a private or secret source of information.

Origin of grapevine

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

Grapevine

[greyp-vahyn]

noun

a town in N Texas.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for grapevine

trailer, creeper, climber, hearsay, rumor

Examples from the Web for grapevine

Contemporary Examples of grapevine

The grapevine and the international media were alight with the buzz of the student killed by the police during the demonstration.
How Havel Inspired the Velvet Revolution
Michael Zantovsky
December 6, 2014
Prince Harry has heard on the grapevine that UK pop star Cheryl Cole has a crush on him - and finds it pretty funny.
When Harry Met Cheryl
Tom Sykes
July 11, 2012
Every Afghan will know, through radio and the grapevine, the news that Americans burned the Quran.
U.S. Must Show It Respects Quran and Its Importance to Afghans
Jere Van Dyk
February 28, 2012
“I had heard that just from the grapevine so I went and asked her,” Morgan recalls.
Inside Palin's Life in Alaska
Shushannah Walshe
September 14, 2010
Through the grapevine I hear of Dick, a 35-year old attorney in Los Angeles.
Confessions of a 90210 Addict
Taffy Brodesser-Akner
March 8, 2010

Historical Examples of grapevine

The pioneers wrought as best they might on the Grapevine Bridge.
The Long Roll
Mary Johnston
He folded the piece of carpet and laid it over the grapevine.
The Curlytops on Star Island
Howard R. Garis
Before the grapevine swayed again, the Sparrows were far away.
Dooryard Stories
Clara Dillingham Pierson
There is something in the north that is called “Grapevine telegraph.”
The Shadow Passes
Roy J. Snell
On a tiny hillock was a small gallows with grapevine attachment.
Dixie After the War
Myrta Lockett Avary

British Dictionary definitions for grapevine

grapevine

noun

any of several vitaceous vines of the genus Vitis, esp V. vinifera of E Asia, widely cultivated for its fruit (grapes): family Vitaceae
informal an unofficial means of relaying information, esp from person to person
a wrestling hold in which a wrestler entwines his own leg around his opponent's and exerts pressure against various joints

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for grapevine

1736, from grape + vine. Meaning "rumor source" is 1862, U.S. Civil War slang for "telegraph wires."