tendril

1 of 2

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

tendriled

2 of 2

adjective

ten·​driled

variants or tendrilled

-ld 

: having tendrils

Examples of tendril in a Sentence

Noun

A few tendrils of hair framed her face.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Lydia Kiesling’s Mobility attempts something at once more traditional and more ambitious, exploring how a young woman tries to disentangle herself from the oil industry’s poisonous tendrils. — Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026

For me, tendrils were a way to hide my hair for my stunt doubles. — Hannah Malach, InStyle, 16 July 2026

Beehive is more delicate, sending up painterly tendrils that form a thin scrim in front of the landscape of volcanic sediment, evergreens, and puffy cumulus clouds. — Jesse Ashlock, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 July 2026

Vines that use rootlets or tendrils to get a grip can squeeze into cracks in mortar and cause damage to window frames, shutters, roof tiles, gutters, and other building materials. — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 12 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

probably modification of Middle French tendron bud, cartilage, alteration of Old French tenrum, from Vulgar Latin *tenerumen, from Latin tener tender

First Known Use

Noun

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