tangle
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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tangles,
present (3rd person singular)
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tangled,
past participle, past
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tangling
present participle
-
to bring together into a mass of confusedly interlaced or intertwisted threads, strands, or other like parts; snarl.
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to involve in something that hampers, obstructs, or overgrows.
The bushes were tangled with vines.
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to catch and hold in or as if in a net or snare.
verb (used without object)
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tangles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
tangled,
past participle, past
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tangling
present participle
-
to be or become tangled.
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Informal. to come into conflict; fight or argue.
I don't want to tangle with him over the new ruling.
noun
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a tangled condition or situation.
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a tangled or confused mass or assemblage of something.
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a confused jumble.
a tangle of contradictory statements.
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Informal. a conflict; disagreement.
He got into a tangle with the governor.
noun
noun
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a confused or complicated mass of hairs, lines, fibres, etc, knotted or coiled together
-
a complicated problem, condition, or situation
verb
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to become or cause to become twisted together in a confused mass
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to come into conflict; contend
to tangle with the police
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(tr) to involve in matters which hinder or confuse
to tangle someone in a shady deal
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(tr) to ensnare or trap, as in a net
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tanglesimple
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tanglessimple
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have tangledperfect
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has tangledperfect
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am tanglingprogressive
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are tanglingprogressive
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is tanglingprogressive
-
have been tanglingperfect progressive
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has been tanglingperfect progressive
Past
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tangledsimple
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had tangledperfect
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was tanglingprogressive
-
were tanglingprogressive
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had been tanglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tangle1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tangilen, tagilen “to entangle,” probably from a Scandinavian language; compare Swedish (dialect) taggla “to disarrange”
Origin of tangle2
First recorded in 1530–40; from a Scandinavian language; compare Old Norse thǫngull “strand of tangle,” Norwegian tang
Explanation
A tangle is a jumble. You might have a tangle of cords behind your computer or a tangle of complications related to your taxes. Whatever it is, once something is in a tangle, it's difficult to sort out. The word tangle likely originated from a Scandinavian source — taggla, in a Swedish dialect, means “disarrange.” Tangle also can be used as a verb: you may tangle your hair as a fashion statement, but then it hurts to comb it out. As a noun, tangle can refer to an argument or a fight between two people: if you're really feisty, people might be warned away from getting into a tangle with you.
Vocabulary lists containing tangle
"Of Mice and Men"
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Excerpt from "Flipped"
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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:
"It's very important that the hundred rowers coordinate because the oars are quite long and they will tangle with each other," Trammell Hudson stressed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
In between, Brook got into a tangle against an O'Rourke full ball and was out for nought.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
On the slithering “Naraka,” a mass of voices come together in a chant while a dense tangle of electronics coil around them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
Maybe it’s a drizzle of special vinegar, a pat of cultured butter softening into gloss or a tangle of pickled vegetables with just enough bite.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026
But thinking how to explain it to Charlie—that was the tangle.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
But consent decrees are legally and politically complicated, and the treatment of migrant children further tangles the situation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
The tests, from manufacturers Fujirebio Diagnostics and Roche Holding, were cleared last year and look for different versions of tau, a protein that forms into tangles in the brain and can lead to memory loss.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
To administer genetic medicines against the tau protein tangles that are Alzheimer’s’ other main pathology, doctors must inject them directly into the cerebrospinal fluid.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
"Alzheimer's work has long centered on plaques and tangles," says Baban.
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026
The teams will not rest this first night—they are too excited and must be allowed to run until they settle in—so the darkness brings a particular insanity of passing teams and tangles and moose.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
One excellent vegetable can be cooked down with butter and tangled through pasta.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
A clockwise march past the 85 exhibits develops a chronology from the birth of modern war in the tangled British and French corpses of J.M.W.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
One proudly holds several baby sharks tangled in his nets.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
The siblings tangled for years in litigation over control of their parents’ house, court documents show.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Her dogs were trying to free themselves from their tangled harness.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
The moves also signaled to the U.S. that it was tangling not just with Denmark—a country of roughly six million people—but allies from across NATO’s 32 members.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
It’s the risk of tangling their expectations and desires, and the fear that their hunger to stay together might get in the way of their separate futures.
From Salon ● May 21, 2025
"Remy hair has aligned cuticles, hair flows uniformly in one direction, which leads to less tangling and a silkier texture. This is high-value hair," says George Cherion, the company's chief executive.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2025
There’s a school of thought that, in tangling with adversaries, it’s sometimes wise to seem unpredictable—to tip them off balance.
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2025
Why, with a car like that, he would no longer have to hang onto his tail to keep it from tangling in the spokes.
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
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.
