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
Derived 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.
Some of the particular companies or brands recalling cantaloupes are Pacific Trellis Fruit and Delcinea Farms, which recalled nearly 5000 cases of "Malichita" brand cantaloupes.
From Salon • Nov. 27, 2023
EDITORS: This version corrects that the nonprofit Trellis is working with the university to help Periwinkle residents and was not allocated money from the $2.5 million general fund established by the city.
From Seattle Times • May 20, 2023
The Lirio bag is similar in structure to the Trellis Lirio, except without the slats, which somehow makes it look even more like a bathroom trash can, albeit one cast in resin.
From Slate • May 3, 2019
Trellis patterns typically develop where sedimentary rocks have been folded or tilted and then eroded to varying degrees depending on their strength.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017
A Trellis Framing a View of the Woods Dorothy went over to look at the drawing that Helen held up to her and decided straightway that it was worth trying.
From Ethel Morton at Sweetbriar Lodge by Smith, Mabell S. C. (Mabell Shippie Clarke)
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.
