tress
Americannoun
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Usually tresses. long locks or curls of hair.
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a plait or braid of hair.
noun
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(often plural) a lock of hair, esp a long lock of woman's hair
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a plait or braid of hair
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tress
1250–1300; Middle English tresse < Middle French: plait or braid of hair < ?
Explanation
A tress is an old-fashioned word for a curl or braid, but it’s used more loosely now as a word for long hair. If someone admires your beautiful tresses, they love your long flowing hair. Congratulations, Rapunzel. Use the noun tress for a curl or ringlet, or as part of a head full of carefully curled tresses. Tresses has changed in meaning over the years and now refers to any hairstyle, but especially a woman’s long unbound hair. This word derives from the Old French tresse, which may stem from the Vulgar Latin trichia, "braid or rope," and the Greek root trikhia, "rope."
Vocabulary lists containing tress
myPerspectives 8.4
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 5
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Summer of the Mariposas
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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.
Whitebark pines are found at elevations up to 12,000 feet — conditions too harsh for most tress to survive.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 14, 2022
Wildfires ignited by human activity spread more than twice as fast and killed more tress than those ignited by lightning, according to research presented at a 2020 meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2022
"They are doing beautification. They are putting some grass, some flowers. But the value of those flowers versus the tress that have been cut cannot be equal," said Mr Gacheru.
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2021
"Planting billions of seedlings is easy. Caring for those tress as they grow, confront droughts, insects, wildfires, and logging is much more challenging."
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2021
Her long tress, artfully folded back and attached to the back of her head, was adorned with a garland of fresh jasmine flowers.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
