# tendon

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtɛn.dən/ · frequency rank #19,483

## Definitions
1. A tough band of flexible but inelastic fibrous collagen tissue that connects a muscle with its bony attachment and transmits the force which the muscle exerts.
2. The hamstring of a quadruped.
3. A wire or bar used to strengthen prestressed concrete.

## Etymology
Borrowed from French tendon or Medieval Latin tendō, from Ancient Greek τένων (ténōn, “sinew, tendon”), modified by association with the verb tendō (“to stretch”). Compare Middle English thenoun.

## Easily confused with
- **tends** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tendon-vs-tends)
- **tenor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tendon-vs-tenor)
- **Teton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tendon-vs-teton)
- **tensor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tendon-vs-tensor)
- **tension** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tendon-vs-tension)
- **Trenton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tendon-vs-trenton)
- **tend** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tend-vs-tendon)
- **tender** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tender-vs-tendon)
- **tended** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tended-vs-tendon)
- **Teflon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/teflon-vs-tendon)
- **tending** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tending-vs-tendon)

## Common misspellings (9)
`etndon`, `tednon`, `tenddon`, `tendno`, `tendonn`, `tenndon`, `tenodn`, `tnedon`, `ttendon`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tendon