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Meaning & use

tenterhook

noun·Advancedarchaic

Last updated

UK/ˈtentəhʊk/
US/ˈtentərhʊk/

Meanings

  1. nouncountabletechnical

    A sharp hook that held woven cloth stretched on a wooden frame while it dried, so it kept its shape.

    Grammar: Countable, but rare except in a historical or textile context.

    Patterns

    • a tenterhook on a frame

    Workers fixed the wet cloth to the frame with tenterhooks.

    The museum displays an old tenterhook used by weavers.

    Cloth hung on tenterhooks in the open field to dry.

  2. nounidiomfigurative

    Used in the plural phrase on tenterhooks, meaning in a state of nervous suspense, waiting anxiously for news.

    Grammar: Almost always plural and after on: We were on tenterhooks.

    Patterns

    • on tenterhooks
    • keep someone on tenterhooks

    We were on tenterhooks until the results came out.

    The final test left the whole class on tenterhooks.

    She kept her fans on tenterhooks for months before announcing the date.

Word forms

pluraltenterhooks

Common combinations

on tenterhooks
The family waited on tenterhooks for the phone call.
keep someone on tenterhooks
The director kept us on tenterhooks about the casting.
leave someone on tenterhooks
Don't leave me on tenterhooks; tell me what happened.
remain on tenterhooks
Voters remained on tenterhooks until the count ended.
wait on tenterhooks
Fans waited on tenterhooks for the verdict.

Synonyms and how they differ

in suspense
In suspense is neutral and can be pleasant, whereas on tenterhooks stresses nervous waiting.
on edge
On edge suggests general tension or irritability, not necessarily waiting for one outcome.
anxious
Anxious describes the feeling, while on tenterhooks describes being held in that feeling while waiting.
on pins and needles
On pins and needles is a similar American idiom that is a little more informal.

Opposites

relaxedat ease

Word family

tenter noun
a wooden frame used for stretching cloth to dry
tenterhooks noun
the hooks on that frame, now mainly in an idiom
hook noun
a bent piece of metal used to hang or catch things

Commonly confused: tenterhook or tenderhooks?

tenterhook vs tenderhooks

Some people write tenderhooks by mistake, but the correct spelling is tenterhooks, from the cloth frame.

Practice

Complete the idiom: The players were on ___ before the final whistle.

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