tassel
Americannoun
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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:
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
“When you move that tassel, you are moving education and the love of education into your heart forever.”
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023
Meza then moved the tassel from one side of Hannah’s mortarboard to the other.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2022
“Ah, that depends on who wears the apron!” and Laurie gave an audacious tweak at the tassel.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
In keeping with the tradition of Yuletide pullovers, Yiayia knits a bright-red Christmas sweater adorned with tassels and bells for her grandson’s dog.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
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
Tutus, frills and tassels were all spotted on the runway - with Stella McCartney stealing the show with her asymmetric dresses in soft fabrics.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 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
As they whirled around the bonfire she caught sight of the musicians with their pipes and drums, dressed like jokers in pointed caps with long gold tassels and jingling bells.
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
Clover’s long, tasseled ears collect leaves, grass, and assorted debris on walks, and she scratches them out semiregularly.
From Slate ● Jun. 20, 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
The super soft accessory is finished with an embroidered Paul Smith signature, Artist Stripe label and tasseled ends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2022
A military leader or ruler, he wears a tasseled hat, rides a caparisoned mount, and is accompanied by dozens of smaller figures, a sculptural demographic of Kajola’s citizenry.
From New York Times ● Oct. 16, 2022
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
Barring disaster, his 42 acres of tall tasseling corn will be worth at least $2,500 in October.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
But the deacon, looking on his waving grass fields, his tasseling corn and his timber lands, bright and honest as were his eyes, never saw such visions as Rebecca.
From New Chronicles of Rebecca by Wiggin, Kate Douglas Smith
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 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 Munger, Dell H.
The tall, tasselling corn now flows free in rippling, murmuring, ever widening silvery seas.
From Oldfield A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century by Banks, Nancy Huston
Cynthia stood by the open window, where the sweet summer wind went by, laden with the fragrance of newly cut grasses and the silk of the corn that was just tasselling out.
From A Little Girl in Old Salem by Douglas, Amanda Minnie
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 Cable, George Washington
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 Brown, Alice
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.
