tentacle C1 Topic:Animals US /ˈtɛn.t̬ə.kəl/ UK /ˈten.tə.kəl/ See IPA manual Freq #34708 Meanings 1 noun a long, flexible organ of an animal, used for touching, grasping, feeding, or movement The octopus extended one tentacle toward the opening in the rock. 2 noun in botany, a sensitive glandular hair on certain insect-eating plants Each tentacle on the sundew leaf bears a drop of sticky fluid. 3 noun a far-reaching branch of influence or control, usually used in the plural The investigation exposed the cartel's tentacles throughout the industry. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a long, flexible organ of... feelerappendage 2 noun · in botany, a sensitive... glandular hair 3 noun · a far-reaching branch of... reachgripinfluence Word family Forms tentaclestentaculatentaculartentaculum Derived forms tentaculartentaculiferous Related forms appendagesuckertentaculum Etymology From New Latin tentaculum 'feeler', from Latin tentare 'to touch, test, or try'. The biological term was extended figuratively to anything that reaches out, grasps, or exerts control. Topics Animals External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # tentacle **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈtɛn.t̬ə.kəl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈten.tə.kəl/ **Frequency rank:** 34708 ## Meanings 1. a long, flexible organ of an animal, used for touching, grasping, feeding, or movement 2. in botany, a sensitive glandular hair on certain insect-eating plants 3. a far-reaching branch of influence or control, usually used in the plural ## Examples - The octopus extended one tentacle toward the opening in the rock. - Each tentacle on the sundew leaf bears a drop of sticky fluid. - The investigation exposed the cartel's tentacles throughout the industry. ## Synonyms - feeler - appendage - reach - grip - influence ## Derived Forms - tentacular - tentaculiferous ## Related Forms - appendage - sucker - tentaculum ## Etymology From New Latin tentaculum 'feeler', from Latin tentare 'to touch, test, or try'. The biological term was extended figuratively to anything that reaches out, grasps, or exerts control. ## Topics - Animals markdown