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

Our picks include The Flamingo Estate Green Goddess candle, with notes of fresh mint, pea tendrils, rosemary and basil, as well as the Linnea Petals candle, with notes of peony, green stem and ambergris. —Claire Peltier, ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026

The boat is as dry and yellow as a crumpet, but the paint elsewhere runs in long tendrils, or swirls into the swampy alluvial ground. —Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026

Styling her light brown hair in a romantic updo with a coronet braid and curly tendrils framing her face, the birthday girl leaned into a regency-era aesthetic with a diaphanous floor-length coat that could be straight out of Bridgerton. —Lara Walsh, InStyle, 23 Feb. 2026

With volume at the roots and long tendrils, curls are about to get a more classical feel. —Audrey Noble, Vogue, 20 Feb. 2026

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