grapevine Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun gossip spread by spoken communication
    word of mouth; pipeline.
    • the news of their affair was spread by word of mouth
  2. noun any of numerous woody vines of genus Vitis bearing clusters of edible berries
    grape; grape vine.

WordNet

Grape"vine` noun
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A vine or climbing shrub, of the genus Vitis, having small green flowers and lobed leaves, and bearing the fruit called grapes. ✍ The common grapevine of the Old World is Vitis vinifera, and is a native of Central Asia. Another variety is that yielding small seedless grapes commonly called Zante currants. The northern Fox grape of the United States is the V. Labrusca, from which, by cultivation, has come the Isabella variety. The southern Fox grape, or Muscadine, is the V. vulpina. The Frost grape is V. cordifolia, which has very fragrant flowers, and ripens after the early frosts.

Webster 1913