tentacle

noun

ten·​ta·​cle ˈten-ti-kəl How to pronounce tentacle (audio)
1
: any of various elongate flexible usually tactile or prehensile processes borne by invertebrate animals chiefly on the head or about the mouth
2
: something that resembles a tentacle especially in or as if in grasping or feeling out
corruption spreading its tentacles
3
: a sensitive hair or emergence on a plant (such as the sundew)
tentacled adjective

Examples of tentacle in a Sentence

The corporation's tentacles are felt in every sector of the industry. the tentacles of organized crime
Recent Examples on the Web While the tentacles are green and purple (and a bit adorable), the jack-o’-lantern has bleeding eyes, which seriously ups the creepy vibe. Kaitlin Gates, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Oct. 2024 On the occasion of his 100th birthday last week, former-President Jimmy Carter received praise from across the political spectrum for his leadership in freeing important parts of the U.S. economy from the asphyxiating tentacles of the regulatory state. Dan Ikenson, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024 One of the actors in it turns to the camera, and of course, he’s got the sucker welts all over him from the tentacles of the giant squid. Robert Englund, Variety, 9 Oct. 2024 By that metric, Vance was the more successful, with his moderate tone defending the more extreme of Trump’s measures like mass deportation, the tentacles of Project 2025, and clamping down on reproductive rights. Ted Johnson, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for tentacle 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tentacle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin tentāculum, from Latin temptāre, tentāre "to feel, test, examine" + -culum, suffix of instrument (going back to Indo-European *-tlom) — more at tempt

Note: The Latin word was used by linnaeus in the second edition (1740) of Systema naturae and may have been coined by him.

First Known Use

circa 1762, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tentacle was circa 1762

Dictionary Entries Near tentacle

Cite this Entry

“Tentacle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tentacle. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

tentacle

noun
ten·​ta·​cle ˈtent-i-kəl How to pronounce tentacle (audio)
1
: any of various long flexible structures that stick out usually around the head or mouth of an animal (as a jellyfish or sea anemone) and are used especially for feeling or grasping
2
a
: something that resembles a tentacle especially in or as if in grasping or feeling out
b
: a sensitive hair on a plant
tentacled adjective

Medical Definition

tentacle

noun
ten·​ta·​cle ˈtent-i-kəl How to pronounce tentacle (audio)
: any of various elongate flexible usually tactile or prehensile processes borne by animals chiefly on the head or about the mouth
especially : one of the threadlike processes bearing nematocysts that hang down from the margin of the umbrella of many jellyfishes

More from Merriam-Webster on tentacle

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!