trellis

American  

[trel-is] / ˈtrɛl ɪs /

noun

1. a frame or structure of latticework; lattice.

2. a framework of this kind used as a support for growing vines or plants.

3. a summerhouse, gazebo, arch, etc., made chiefly or completely of latticework.

4. Heraldry. a charge of bendlets overlying bendlets sinister, the whole being cloué at the crossings.

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verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with a trellis.

2. to enclose in a trellis.

3. to train or support on a trellis.

4. to form into or like a trellis.

trellis British  

/ ˈtrɛlɪs /

noun

1. a structure or pattern of latticework, esp one used to support climbing plants

2. an arch made of latticework

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verb

1. to interweave (strips of wood, etc) to make a trellis

2. to provide or support with a trellis

Other Word Forms

• trellis-like adjective

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

Example Sentences

The two-story pool house’s red tile roof, wooden trellises and Spanish Colonial Revival features will look roughly the same on the outside, Kingsnorth said, and the rehabilitation will comply with federal standards for historic structures.

From Los Angeles Times

Here, the grapes that tangled themselves around corner-bar trellises all summer fall frozen to the sidewalk, shattering softly underfoot.

From Salon

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

He scrambled up the vine-covered trellis that led to the balcony quite nimbly for an old bowlegged coachman.

From Literature

Another complication is that to accommodate robotic pickers, many farmers would need to plant new orchards with apples growing on trellises rather than in rows of traditional lollipop-shaped trees.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• arbor
• lattice