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

The musician's locs were gathered up high atop her head with a handful of pieces of hair pulled out from the bun and spiked straight outwards, finished with two skinny tendrils of hair on either side of her face. —Kara Nesvig, Allure, 13 June 2024

This initial study focused on Jupiter’s cyclones, the team was also intrigued by the wispy tendrils or filaments in between the cyclone’s gassy vortices. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 6 June 2024

The dish to order: A fresh and flavorful Spring Tabbouleh salad with pea tendrils, mint, pistachio dukkah, and preserved lemon vinaigrette. —Todd Plummer, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 June 2024

But the Neuralink device continued to lose its connection, the tendrils gradually sliding out of the tissue of his brain and presumably resting in the fluid that surrounds it. —Christina Jewett, New York Times, 22 May 2024

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