Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

tangle

/ˈtæŋ.ɡəl/ verb

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about tangle at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To mix together or intertwine.
To become mixed together or intertwined.
Her hair was tangled from a day in the wind.
To enter into an argument, conflict, dispute, or fight.
Don't tangle with someone three times your size.

noun

A tangled twisted mass.
A complicated or confused state or condition.
I tried to sort through this tangle and got nowhere.
An argument, conflict, dispute, or fight.

noun

Any large type of seaweed, especially a species of Laminaria.
An instrument consisting essentially of an iron bar to which are attached swabs, or bundles of frayed rope, or other similar substances, used to capture starfishes, sea urchins, and other similar creatures living at the bottom of the sea.
Any long hanging thing, even a lanky person.

Origin

From Middle English tanglen, probably of North Germanic origin, compare Swedish taggla (“to disorder”), Old Norse þǫngull, þang (“tangle; seaweed”), see Etymology 2 below.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word