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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026 tan•gle1 /ˈtæŋgəl/USA pronunciation
v., -gled, -gling, n. v.
to (cause to) be brought together into a mass of confused parts or strands;[ ~ + object] The wind tangled the girl's long hair. [ no object] Those puppet strings tangle too easily. to involve in something that prevents freedom of movement:[ ~ + object] to catch and hold in or as if in a net or snare:[ ~ + object] Informal Terms to come into conflict;[ no object] n. [ countable ] a tangled situation;The deer was caught in a tangle of vines. a confused mess;a tangle of lies and contradictions. Informal Terms a conflict;I got into a tangle with the manager.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026 tan•gle1
(tang′ gəl),USA pronunciation v., -gled, -gling, n. v.t.
to bring together into a mass of confusedly interlaced or intertwisted threads, strands, or other like parts; to involve in something that hampers, obstructs, or overgrows:The bushes were tangled with vines. to catch and hold in or as if in a net or snare. v.i.
to be or become tangled. Informal Terms to come into conflict;I don't want to tangle with him over the new ruling. n.
a tangled condition or situation. a tangled or confused mass or assemblage of something. a confused jumble:a tangle of contradictory statements. Informal Terms a conflict;He got into a tangle with the governor. Scandinavian; compare Swedish (dialect, dialectal) taggla to disarrange Middle English tangilen, tagilen to entangle 1300–50 tan′ gle•ment , n. tan′ gler , n. tan′ gly , adv.
8. snarl, net, labyrinth, maze. tan•gle2
(tang′ gəl),USA pronunciation n.
Plant Biology, Microbiology any of several large seaweeds of the genus Laminaria.
Scandinavian; compare Old Norse thǫngull strand of tangle, Norwegian tang 1530–40
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
tangle /ˈtæŋɡə l / n a confused or complicated mass of hairs, lines, fibres, etc, knotted or coiled together a complicated problem, condition, or situation vb to become or cause to become twisted together in a confused mass (intransitive ) often followed by with : to come into conflict; contend (transitive ) to involve in matters which hinder or confuse (transitive ) to ensnare or trap, as in a net Etymology: 14th Century tangilen, variant of tagilen, probably of Scandinavian origin; related to Swedish dialect taggla to entangle ˈtangly adj