tendon

tendon — noun

1. a thick, flexible cord inside the body. One end is attached to a muscle and the

1.nounB2
Definition

a thick, flexible cord inside the body. One end is attached to a muscle and the other end to a bone, so that when the muscle tightens, the tendon pulls on the bone and makes it move.

Example

Hiro tore a tendon in his right knee while playing soccer last weekend.

tear a tendon in [body part] — injury context

The surgeon carefully repaired the damaged tendon with several tiny stitches.

passive: repaired/damaged tendon — surgical context

Common collocations
  • Achilles tendon
  • patellar tendon
  • torn tendon
  • damaged tendon
  • tendon repair
  • tendon injury
  • tendon strain
  • tendon sheath
Synonyms
  • sinew

    archaic or literary term for the same tissue; rare in everyday medical or clinical language

Grammar Patterns

tendon in [body part]

[body part] tendon

tear/rupture a tendon

Usage Note

Distinguish from ligament: a ligament connects bone to bone and stabilises joints, whereas a tendon connects muscle to bone and transmits force for movement. The word appears most often in the context of sports injuries, surgery, and anatomy education.

Common Mistakes

The doctor said I tore a ligament in my knee from running.' (when the injury was to a tendon).
The doctor said I tore a tendon in my knee from running.
Ligaments connect bone to bone; tendons connect muscle to bone. Running injuries often involve tendons.

Word family

  • tendinous
    adjectiveC2
  • tendonitis
    nounC1
  • tendinopathy
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Tendon, ligament, and sinew are often confused. A tendon is a cord of tissue that connects muscle to bone and transmits the pulling force needed for movement. A ligament connects bone to bone and stabilises joints; it is less elastic and does not actively produce motion. Sinew is an older, literary word for tendon — you might encounter it in historical writing or idioms such as 'the sinews of war' (meaning resources or strength). In modern everyday English, sinew is rare, while tendon is the standard term used by doctors, trainers, and anatomy textbooks. For example: 'A torn tendon usually requires surgery,' but 'A sprained ligament can heal with rest and a brace.'

tendon ↗ligamentsinew

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • Achilles tendon
  • patellar tendon
  • tendon sheath
  • tendon reflex
  • tendon transplant
  • tendonitis treatment

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinMedieval LatinFrenchEnglish

The word came into English in the late 1300s from French 'tendon' or directly from Medieval Latin 'tendo', which was formed from Latin 'tendere' (to stretch). The underlying idea is of something that is pulled tight — fitting, since a tendon is stretched taut when the attached muscle contracts.