WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
wat•tle /ˈwɑtəl/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
wat•tle1 /ˈwɑtəl/USA pronunciation n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Often, -tles. rods interwoven with twigs or branches, used esp. for making fences and walls.
wat•tle1 /ˈwɑtəl/USA pronunciation n. [countable]
- Birdsa piece of flesh hanging down from the head or neck of certain birds, as the domestic turkey.
wat•tle
(wot′l),USA pronunciation n., v., -tled, -tling, adj.
n.
v.t.
adj.
n.
- Often, wattles. a number of rods or stakes interwoven with twigs or tree branches for making fences, walls, etc.
- wattles, a number of poles laid on a roof to hold thatch.
- Plant Biology(in Australia) any of various acacias whose shoots and branches were used by the early colonists for wattles, now valued esp. for their bark, which is used in tanning.
- Birdsa fleshy lobe or appendage hanging down from the throat or chin of certain birds, as the domestic chicken or turkey.
v.t.
- to bind, wall, fence, etc., with wattle or wattles.
- to roof or frame with or as if with wattles.
- to form into a basketwork;
interweave;
interlace. - to make or construct by interweaving twigs or branches:to wattle a fence.
adj.
- built or roofed with wattle or wattles.
- bef. 900; (noun, nominal) Middle English wattel, Old English watul covering, akin to wætla bandage; (verb, verbal) Middle English wattelen, derivative of the noun, nominal