trellis
Americannoun
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a frame or structure of latticework; lattice.
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a framework of this kind used as a support for growing vines or plants.
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a summerhouse, gazebo, arch, etc., made chiefly or completely of latticework.
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Heraldry. a charge of bendlets overlying bendlets sinister, the whole being cloué at the crossings.
verb (used with object)
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to furnish with a trellis.
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to enclose in a trellis.
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to train or support on a trellis.
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to form into or like a trellis.
noun
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a structure or pattern of latticework, esp one used to support climbing plants
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an arch made of latticework
verb
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to interweave (strips of wood, etc) to make a trellis
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to provide or support with a trellis
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of trellis
1350–1400; Middle English trelis < Middle French (noun) < Late Latin trilīcius (for Latin trilīx ) woven with three threads, equivalent to Latin tri- tri- + līci ( um ) thread + -us adj. suffix
Explanation
A trellis is a type of structure used to guide and support climbing plants such as ivy. Trellis is related to words for woven fabrics, and that can help you remember how a trellis looks: the material, usually a type of wood, is criss-crossed in a latticework. The purpose of the trellis is to support climbing plants, which can't stand straight like a tree or houseplant. With the aid of the trellis, the climbing plant wraps around the trellis and adds decoration to a garden. Sometimes trellis is used as a metaphor for other kinds of support.
Vocabulary lists containing trellis
Our Town
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Born a Crime
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How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
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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.
The couple are also planning to put a pool and “inset spa” in the backyard, while also building a pool deck and a boardwalk, as well as a trellis.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 17, 2025
“It’s what you would buy if you were going to grow a couple of tomatoes and maybe a miniature eggplant on a trellis on your patio.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2024
Another video showed Shreeves bashing her neighbours' trellis with a broom and causing a ladder to clatter into a flowerbed.
From BBC • Feb. 3, 2023
Narrow side yards accommodate columnar evergreens, espaliered trees and climbing vines trained on a trellis.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 28, 2023
Ruthanne shoved me behind a rose trellis that didn’t provide much coverage, as there were no blooms to boast of.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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.
