From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtendrilten‧dril /ˈtendrəl/ noun [countable] 1 HBPa thin leafless curling stem by which a climbing plant fastens itself to a support2 literaryHBH a thin curling piece of hair
Examples from the Corpus
tendril• Fingered through permed or curly hair, they give more definition to curls and tendrils.• He also has an incredible view for 360 degrees, ideal for watching wildlife and tendrils of smoke.• Damp affects down particularly badly causing the fluffy tendrils to clog together and lose the ability to insulate.• She pushed back the warm honeyed tendrils of her hair from her neck, allowing a tantalising breeze to fan her skin.• She lit a cigarette and the smoke curled in tendrils around her face.• But sometimes they used lashings of rattan, a jungle plant which threw out long tendrils that made natural bindings.• The most extreme complication seems to lie in the tendrils, which can meander most wildly.• Bugs creep around him through the tendrils and quite near a thrush is singing.Origin tendril (1500-1600) Perhaps from Old French tendron, from tendon “tendon, tendril”, from Medieval Latin tendo; → TENDON 