tassel
Americannoun
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tassels
plural
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a pendent ornament consisting commonly of a bunch of threads, small cords, or other strands hanging from a roundish knob or head, used on clothing, in jewelry, on curtains, etc.
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something resembling this, as the inflorescence of certain plants, especially that at the summit of a stalk of corn.
verb (used with object)
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to furnish or adorn with tassels.
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to form into a tassel or tassels.
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to remove the tassel from (growing corn) in order to improve the crop.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a tuft of loose threads secured by a knot or ornamental knob, used to decorate soft furnishings, clothes, etc
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anything resembling this tuft, esp the tuft of stamens at the tip of a maize inflorescence
verb
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(tr) to adorn with a tassel or tassels
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(intr) (of maize) to produce stamens in a tuft
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(tr) to remove the tassels from
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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tasselernoun
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detasselverb (used with object)
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tassellyadjective
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untasseledadjective
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untasselledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tassel
1250–1300; Middle English (noun) < Old French tas ( s ) el fastening for cloak < Vulgar Latin *tassellus, blend of Latin tessella (diminutive of tessera die for gaming) and taxillus (diminutive of tālus die for gaming). See tessellate, talus 1
Explanation
A tassel is an ornament or decoration that's made of threads. Tassels are used to decorate curtains, pillows, and clothing. A graduation cap (or mortarboard) often has a cord with a tassel attached to the top with a cord—in the U.S. it's traditional for a student to move the tassel from one side to the other at the end of the graduation ceremony. You'll also see tassels along the edges of fancy drapery and other soft furnishings. Tassels in various parts of the ancient Arab world were considered good luck, said to protect children from evil spirits.
Vocabulary lists containing tassel
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:
Those still open tend to have generators, menus priced in dollars and a clientele of well-connected Cubans, decked in salmon shirts and tassel loafers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
The traditional velvet cap features embroidered initials, button and tassel and a hand-embroidered clementine in honour of his wife Clementine.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2024
A smaller tassel allows more light to reach the leaves.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 25, 2023
“There is one final tradition and that is to move the tassel – not yet, not yet, not yet – from the right to the left,” Nelsen instructed to laughter from the audience and graduates.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023
He flicked at flies with the official staff of his office—some sort of stiffened animal tail that ends in a silky white tassel.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Here clay has been made to conjure soft flesh, the fall and flow of fabric, even the swing of the tassels on Mary’s garment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Henkel and Pitegoff’s only additions are a borrowed piano, a red carpet in the lobby and a few glittering tassels by the bar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2025
A woman dances in the spotlight, the glittering tassels on her dress shivering and swaying in tandem with her moves.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2024
And she does accessorize in other areas of her life, too, she said, pointing to various tassels she has for her Bogg Bag.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2024
We marched behind Grandma, and it wasn’t too bad until the sun came up over the tassels on the corn.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
The set replicates the characteristics of the actual room in Albany, down to two heavily tasseled flags — one American, one New York state.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Jay Kay arrived to a scream of recognition from older members of the audience, suited up in a tasseled white cowboy jacket and pink jeans.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2025
With their tasseled ears, pointed mutton chops and jacked-up hind quarters, they look like creatures from a Dr. Seuss book.
From Seattle Times ● May 12, 2023
Tobias Rahim, a 6-foot-7 Kurdish Danish pop singer, strode around the vast stage of Copenhagen’s Royal Arena one recent Saturday night dressed in a tasseled gold cowboy outfit.
From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2023
One depended instead on a pair of tasseled wall lights shaded by a quarter circle of fake parchment.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
There are reports were corn in southern Illinois is only 2 to 3 feet tall and tasseling, he said.
From Reuters ● Jun. 28, 2012
The harsh weather arrived just as the corn was entering its crucial tasseling stage and kernels were starting to form.
From Time Magazine Archive
Some corn is tasseling weeks ahead of schedule, and an early harvest is in prospect.
From Time Magazine Archive
Barring disaster, his 42 acres of tall tasseling corn will be worth at least $2,500 in October.
From Time Magazine Archive
The girls sat gazing out on the beautiful rolling fields of blue grass and tasseling corn, which Molly knowingly remarked promised an excellent crop.
From Molly Brown's Post-Graduate Days by Nell Speed
A tasselled blue Texan-style ensemble -- complete with a cowboy hat for the robot -- and a retro silver puffer jacket were among the looks showcased at the event on Thursday.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
Wearing a long tasselled silver shirt and matching trousers, he shimmered as he charged around the stage, joined by a troupe of dancers on a rotating platform.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2023
Frocks were pleated, tasselled, sequined, off-the-shoulder or strapless.
From Reuters ● Sep. 8, 2021
The furnishings were crystal, gilt, and tasselled bronze brocade.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 15, 2019
There was a visiting cardinal in the glorious tasselled hat which still adorns the notepaper of Wolsey’s College at Oxford.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
The tall, tasselling corn now flows free in rippling, murmuring, ever widening silvery seas.
From Oldfield A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century by Nancy Huston Banks
Still at a gallop we left these behind and entered a broad lane between fields of tasselling corn, where we saw a gallant sight.
From The Cavalier by George Washington Cable
Vines bending with enormous clusters of grapes festoon themselves from tree to tree, tasselling the topmost branches with fruit and tendrils.
From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science October, 1877. Vol XX - No. 118 by Various
We know when the first violets are blowing in the woods, and we paint for ourselves the tasselling of the alder and the red of maple-buds.
From Meadow Grass Tales of New England Life by Alice Brown
The hot sun blazed fiercely down on his thinly clad back, and he noticed as he struggled through the tasselling corn that the leaves were already firing about the roots.
From The Wind Before the Dawn by Dell H. Munger
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