tentacle

noun

ten·​ta·​cle ˈten-ti-kəl 

1

: any of various elongated 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

ˈten-ti-kəld 

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

If stung, the department advises rinsing the area with saltwater, removing any remaining tentacle material with gloves, a plastic card or a thick towel and seeking medical attention if symptoms persist or pain increases. —Adam England, PEOPLE, 18 June 2026

To the degradation inflicted by time and nature's tentacles were added NATO bombings. —Marzio G. Mian, Vanity Fair, 16 June 2026

Cedar apple rust has a dramatic appearance on junipers when the bright orange gelatinous masses with tentacles appear on the branches. —Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 14 June 2026

Because each sucker only sends contact direction to the main controller – rather than all raw data – the system requires far less bandwidth and can scale easily to more suckers or multiple tentacles without losing response speed. —Omar Kardoudi june 13, New Atlas, 13 June 2026

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

Rhymes for tentacle

• conventicle
• identical
• denticle

Kids Definition

tentacle

noun

ten·​ta·​cle ˈtent-i-kəl 

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

-kəld 

adjective

Medical Definition

tentacle

noun

ten·​ta·​cle ˈtent-i-kəl 

: 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