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

Carefully remove any visible tentacles with tweezers or a gloved hand and avoid rubbing the skin. —Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 3 June 2026

Hafley will tell you that this is a meticulous process that has many tentacles. —Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 3 June 2026

Here start the secret, 18th-century tunnels of the villa, which extend their tentacles to the lake. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026

Because these sea cucumbers inhabit harsh environments, their feet and tentacles experience high rates of injury and loss. —Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 29 May 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