Entangle means to twist or catch things together in a confused, tangled mess that's difficult to undo. When you pull your earbuds from your pocket and find the cords hopelessly knotted around each other, they've become entangled. When a kite string wraps around tree branches, it's entangled in the limbs.

The word describes things caught up with each other in complicated, interwoven ways. A fishing line can become entangled in seaweed. Long hair gets entangled in a brush and needs patient work to free it. You might watch a nature documentary showing a whale that became entangled in abandoned fishing nets, a serious problem that rescuers work carefully to solve.

The word also describes getting caught up in complicated situations. Someone might become entangled in a dispute between two friends, pulled into an argument they didn't start and can't easily escape. A spy might get entangled in a web of lies. When you're entangled in something, whether it's yarn or trouble, extracting yourself takes real effort and attention.