You searched for: “tentacles
tentacle (s) (noun), tentacles (pl)
1. Long, thin, armlike parts of some sea animals which are used for feeling and holding things, catching food, or moving around; such as, a squid, the octopus, and the jellyfish: Bigfin squids have huge wing-like fins extending from their mantles and very long, slender tentacles sticking stiffly out from their bodies, then bending at right angles and trailing downwards; which suggest that the bigfin is waiting for prey to blunder into them; and, although their bodies are less than half a meter long, the tentacles extend seven meters or more.
2. A slender projection of invertebrates that are equipped with receptors ; such as, those surrounding the mouths or oral cavities of squids: Like octopi, squids also use their tentacles to help them get around, feed on, and to hold onto natural structures.
3. One of the sensitive glandular hairs or filaments on the leaves of insectivorous (insect-eating) plants, such as the sundew whose secretions trap and digest prey: Irwin noticed that if anything touches the tentacles on the leaves of the sundew plant, the leaves automatically close up, as if trying to capture whatever might be coming into contact with them.
4. A part or extension of an organization that has the ability to grasp, to influence, or to control certain aspects of societies: There was an espionage network run by the government that had far-reaching tentacles.

Henry's cousin was caught in the tentacles of organized crime.

The neighborhood has been caught in the tentacles of narcotics.

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Word Entries containing the term: “tentacles
cnidarian tentacle (nigh DAR ee uhn) (s) (noun), cnidarian tentacles (pl)
1. Corals, jellyfish, sea anemones, and hydras (several small freshwater animals), having naked cylindrical bodies and oral openings surrounded by armlike parts: Cnidarian tentacles consist of rings of elongated and flexible extensions which are used to capture food and to defend themselves against predators.

Cells in the cnidarian tentacles and in the outer body surfaces are armed with stinging, harpoon-like structures called "nematocysts" which contain toxins that can cause their victims to have paralysis.

2. Etymology: from Greek cnidaria, "nettle" and refers to the stinging structures that are characteristic of these animals.
—Compiled from information located in
Holt Biology, Visualizing Life by George B. Johnson;
Holt, Rinehart and Winston; New York; 1998; page 481.
This entry is located in the following unit: tentacu-, tentac- (page 1)
Word Entries at Get Words: “tentacles
An octotentacle that is a female humanoid with slender appendages representing arms and legs; four of which are serving as arms and hands, plus four that function as legs and feet.
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