tendon
Americannoun
-
Anatomy. a cord or band of dense, tough, inelastic, white, fibrous tissue, serving to connect a muscle with a bone or part; sinew.
-
a reinforcing strand in prestressed concrete.
noun
Etymology
Origin of tendon
1535–45; < Medieval Latin tendōn- (stem of tendō ) < Greek ténōn sinew (spelling with -d- by association with Latin tendere to stretch)
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Explanation
If you feel the back of your ankle, you will find the tough, ropelike tendon that joins your calf muscle to your heel bone. That's the job of tendons throughout your body: connecting bone and muscle so you can move. Consider that the Latin word tendere means "to stretch." That's an apt beginning for the word tendon, a tough but stretchy fibrous tissue (sinew). A tendon is made of dense bundles of fibrous collagen that form ropelike connectors that allow muscles and bones to work together. Athletes often suffer injuries to tendons, most often to the rotator cuff in the shoulder, the Achilles tendon in the leg, the patellar tendon in the knee, and the biceps muscle in the arm.
Vocabulary lists containing tendon
Human Anatomy and Physiology - Introductory
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Divergent
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - High School
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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.
"My knee was destroyed. The tendon basically had a hole in it," Nadal said.
From BBC • May 29, 2026
Draper retired from his one and only clay court match of the season in Barcelona earlier this month because of the tendon issue in his right knee.
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
When O’Malley repaired Durant’s tendon back in 2019, Durant had the benefit of a long road back to recovery.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026
He suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon in March 2025 and underwent back surgery last October.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
They say that the tendon didn’t detach again, that it didn’t sever or snap like a rubber band pulled too far.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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.
