reticule

Syllables: ret·i·cule/ˈɹɛtɪkjuːl/

reticule noun: a reticle; a grid in the eyepiece of an instrument.

Image: Martha Kittredge, New England, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

reticule (plural reticules)

A reticle; a grid in the eyepiece of an instrument.
- [H]er hair had been used to create the reticule in the famous Norden bombsight—a top-secret WWII targeting device.2017, Eric Grundhauser, The Legend of WWII’s Bombsight Rapunzel
A small women's bag made of a woven net-like material.
- When reading the note, and arriving at an assurance of Helen's absence, Lady Anne had indignantly crushed it in her hand, and thrust it into her reticule, but, on her return home, whilst Fanchette was industriously employed upon her hair with the invaluable liquid dye, she drew out the rumpled...1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXXVIII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 183
- Major Arthur Pendennis, arrived in due time at Fairoaks, after a dreary night passed in the mail-coach, … where a widow lady, opposite, had not only shut out the fresh air by closing all the windows of the vehicle, but had filled the interior with fumes of Jamaica rum and water, which she sucked...1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 7, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850...

பட்டு, வலைப்பை, கம்பிப் பின்னல்

She carries some small litter in a reticule which she calls her documents, principally consisting of paper matches and dry lavender.1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, chapter 1, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC:
Miss Pross, exploring the depths of her reticule through her tears with great difficulty, paid for her wine.1859, Charles Dickens, “Book 3, Chapter 8”, in A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC:
Eleanor wore a green silk dress to bring out here eyes, with an ivory tatted collar and reticule to match.1993, TC Boyle, The Road to Wellville, Penguin, published 1994, page 150:
Pléiade […] lingered through another bottle of wine before producing from her reticule a Vacheron & Constantin watch […].2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 606:

plural	reticules

From French réticule, from Latin rēticulum, diminutive of rēte (“net”). Doublet of reticle, reticulum, and Reticulum.

What does reticule mean?: Reticule means a reticle; a grid in the eyepiece of an instrument.
What is reticule in Tamil?: Reticule in Tamil is பட்டு, வலைப்பை, கம்பிப் பின்னல். See Reticule meaning in Tamil.
How do you use reticule in a sentence?: She carries some small litter in a reticule which she calls her documents, principally consisting of paper matches and dry lavender.
What part of speech is reticule?: Reticule is a noun.
How do you pronounce reticule?: Reticule is pronounced /ˈɹɛtɪkjuːl/.
What is the plural of reticule?: The plural of reticule is reticules.

Adapted from Wiktionary: reticule (page history and authors); reticule (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-reticule.ogg.

Cite this entry: “reticule.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/reticule. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.