tentacle

noun

ten·​ta·​cle ˈten-ti-kəl 

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

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

Dr Church and collaborators compared differences in tentacle length, color and other physical characteristics to previous records of men o’ war found around the world, including descriptions in centuries-old publications that argued there are some number of different species. —Grrlscientist, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025

Below the surface hide tentacles that can stretch up to 100 feet, filled with venom, trapping and paralyzing small fish, and occasionally harming humans. —Jenny Lehmann, Discover Magazine, 20 June 2025

And while the pirates and ship remained the exact same way the 7-year-old had drawn them, Crisp had transformed the tentacles and waves into something more professional, giving the piece a unique contrasting look. —Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 June 2025

What is also true is that every market has a series of tangential, connected extensions, tentacles, networks. —Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2025

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