tendril

noun

ten·​dril ˈten-drəl 

1

: a leaf, stipule, or stem modified into a slender spirally coiling sensitive organ serving to attach a climbing plant to its support

2

: something suggestive of a tendril

creeping tendrils of fog

tendriled adjective

or tendrilled

ˈten-drəld 

tendrilous

ˈten-drə-ləs 

adjective

Illustration of tendril

• tendril 1

Examples of tendril in a Sentence

A few tendrils of hair framed her face.

Recent Examples on the Web

Inspired by Shoshana Zuboff’s The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Davidson grapples with the tendrils of Big Tech in songs that play out as a militant techno march interrupted by bursts of pop abandon. —Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 28 Feb. 2025

The Hubble image captures the nebula's diverse stellar population, which includes hot, young blue stars and older red stars, scattered among intricately woven, airy tendrils of gas and dark clumps of dust. —Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 20 Feb. 2025

The red tendrils weaving through this gas represent filaments of cooler gas seen in optical light by the VLT. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 29 Jan. 2025

The aroma was evident last summer on the shrinking mudflats of the Bird’s Foot’s outer tendrils. —Bywarren Cornwall, science.org, 9 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

probably modification of Middle French tendron bud, cartilage, alteration of Old French tenrum, from Vulgar Latin *tenerumen, from Latin tener tender — more at tender entry 1

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

tendril

noun

ten·​dril ˈten-drəl 

1

: a slender leafless winding stem by which some climbing plants fasten themselves to a support

2

: something that curls like a tendril

tendrils of hair