tentacle

American  

[ten-tuh-kuhl] / ˈtɛn tə kəl /

noun

• tentacles
  plural

1. Zoology. any of various slender, flexible processes or appendages in animals, especially invertebrates, that serve as organs of touch, prehension, etc.; feeler.

2. Botany. a sensitive filament or process, as one of the glandular hairs of the sundew.

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tentacle British  

/ tɛnˈtækjʊlə, tɛnˈtækjʊˌlɔɪd, ˈtɛntəkəl /

noun

1. any of various elongated flexible organs that occur near the mouth in many invertebrates and are used for feeding, grasping, etc

2. any of the hairs on the leaf of an insectivorous plant that are used to capture prey

3. something resembling a tentacle, esp in its ability to reach out or grasp

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tentacle Scientific  

/ tĕn′tə-kəl /

1. A narrow, flexible, unjointed part extending from the body of certain animals, such as an octopus, jellyfish, or sea anemone. Tentacles are used for feeling, grasping, or moving.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intertentacular
  adjective
• subtentacular
  adjective
• tentacle-like
  adjective
• tentacled
  adjective
• tentaclelike
  adjective
• tentacular
  adjective
• tentaculoid
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tentacles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tentacle

1755–65; < New Latin tentāculum, equivalent to Latin tentā ( re ) (variant of temptāre to feel, probe) + -culum -cule ²

Explanation

A tentacle is long, ropey thing that sticks out of an animal’s face. You probably think they’re gross. Octopuses probably think they’re cute. You can use the word tentacle when referring to all kinds of things that grasp and hold, not just slithery creatures like octopi and jellyfish. But the word does have creepy associations, which is why “the tentacles of organized crime” is a more common expression than, say, the “tentacles of friendship.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tentacle tentacles

Hardware has been a tentacle of my personal style code since, infiltrating every part of my closet, home and life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

There were costume changes and choreographed dance numbers, even an intro where a moving tentacle flailed halfway out of her mouth.

From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025

Her work includes creating a removable extra thumb and a tentacle arm.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2024

"Repair-specific proliferative cells mainly contribute to the epithelium -- the thin outer layer -- of the newly formed tentacle."

From Science Daily ● Dec. 22, 2023

When she touched it, the root shook itself and curled back like an octopus tentacle.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Phishing scams are like an octopus: They have many sticky tentacles.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

In order to "find the tentacles of organised crime, the entire chain of demand and supply needs to be tracked", he said.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

Along with his Unification Church, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon built a political propaganda empire, which had tentacles all over Washington, D.C., at one time.

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026

Here you might spy a lion’s mane jellyfish, whose stinging tentacles have been known to grow more than 100 feet, longer than the length of a basketball court.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

He couldn’t guess what time it was because Skardebek had fallen asleep plastered to his face, her tentacles clamped over his eyes, nose, and mouth.

From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin