tentacle

American  

[ten-tuh-kuhl] / ˈtɛn tə kəl /

noun

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

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

Etymology

Origin of tentacle

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

Example Sentences

I love thinking of a bag as a tentacle, and with this reimagining of Marakami’s Mr. DOB as a vibrant octopus, I’m ready to channel some Ursula energy.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025

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

At about the size of a pinkie nail, the jellyfish species Cladonema can regenerate an amputated tentacle in two to three days -- but how?

From Science Daily • Dec. 22, 2023

Its head was the size of a softball, and its one tentacle was less than two feet long.

From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli