tendril

American  

[ten-dril] / ˈtɛn drɪl /

noun

Botany.

• tendrils
  plural

1. 

   a threadlike, leafless organ of climbing plants, often growing in spiral form, which attaches itself to or twines round some other body, so as to support the plant.

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tendril British  

/ ˈtɛndrɪl /

noun

1. a specialized threadlike part of a leaf or stem that attaches climbing plants to a support by twining or adhering

2. something resembling a tendril, such as a wisp of hair

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tendril Scientific  

/ tĕn′drəl /

1. A slender, coiling plant part, often a modified leaf or leaf part, that helps support the stem of some climbing angiosperms by clinging to or winding around an object. Peas, squash, and grapes produce tendrils.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• tendrillar
  adjective
• tendrilly
  adjective
• tendrilous
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tendrils
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of tendril

1530–40; earlier tendrel, variant (perhaps by dissimilation) of Middle English tendren, tendron < Middle French tendron shoot, sprout, cartilage

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Explanation

Plants don't have arms or tentacles, but they have something a tiny bit similar: tendrils. Tendrils are thin organs of plants that wrap around other objects for support. Tendrils are very thin, stem-like appendages that stretch outward from the plant. The main purpose of the tendrils is to support the plant: the tendrils wrap around objects (like a post or fence) to help keep the plant upright, which helps it receive sunlight. Tendrils are an example of how, even without a brain, plants are pretty smart.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tendril tendrils

A few weeks later, a wispy tendril starts out, climbing up the wooden support.

From Salon ● May 9, 2026

A few painstaking moments later and he has freed his bounty—a small caterpillar perhaps an inch long, caked in earth with a reddish tendril of fungus sprouting from its head.

From National Geographic ● Jan. 4, 2024

A twisty tendril of vapor in white-to-red ombre could be seen snaking behind a bright white light in parts of South Korea’s sky Friday evening.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 30, 2022

At one point, she reached out and gently brushed a loose tendril out of the face of the nurse attending her.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2022

The four bases protruded out from the backbone, like leaves emerging out of the tendril of ivy.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Especially brilliant are the contributions of puppet designer James Ortiz, particularly the menacing tendrils that encase Willie.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Paul Cremo, who directs the Met's commissioning program, said creating the other-worldly universe for "Bardo" -- in which tendrils engulf singers and ghosts explode -- challenged the Met's technical staff.

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026

Its mouth is triangular, divided into three lips, and surrounded by sensory tendrils, giving it an appearance reminiscent of a tiny marine Sarlacc pit.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026

But for anyone who’s tangled with an eating disorder — and the way its tendrils quietly siphon joy from even the simplest routines — it is something.

From Salon ● Jan. 1, 2026

She thought how she might describe it, the way they bobbed on the illuminated water’s gentle swell, and how their hair spread like tendrils and their clothed bodies softly collided and drifted apart.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

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