tangle

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   something jumbled or confused

   a tangle of government regulations

2. 2
   noun

   a twisted and tangled mass that is highly interwoven

   they carved their way through the tangle of vines

3. 3
   verb

   twist together or entwine into a confusing mass

   The child entangled the cord

4. 4
   verb

   To become mixed together or intertwined.

   Her hair was tangled from a day in the wind.

5. 5
   verb

   To enter into an argument, conflict, dispute, or fight.

   Don't tangle with someone three times your size.

6. 6
   verb

   To catch and hold.

   tangled in amorous nets

7. 7
   noun

   A complicated or confused state or condition.

   I tried to sort through this tangle and got nowhere.

8. 8
   noun

   Any large type of seaweed, especially a species of Laminaria.

   […] if with thee the roaring wells ⁠Should gulf him fathom-deep in brine; ⁠And hands so often clasp’d in mine, Should toss with tangle and with shells.

Etymology

Of North Germanic origin, such as Danish tang or Swedish tång, from Old Norse þongull, þang. See also Norwegian tongul, Faroese tongul, Icelandic þöngull.