hackles

/ (ˈhækəlz) /


pl n
  1. the hairs on the back of the neck and the back of a dog, cat, etc, which rise when the animal is angry or afraid

  2. anger or resentment (esp in the phrases get one's hackles up, make one's hackles rise)

Words Nearby hackles

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use hackles in a sentence

  • Logwood dyes lilac, or pink; to turn red hackles brown, boil them in copperas.

    The Teesdale Angler | R Lakeland
  • His gray hackles stiffened and his thick-set eyebrows bristled outward like bits of frosted privet.

    The Escape of Mr. Trimm | Irvin S. Cobb
  • But his hackles remained raised as he accompanied the boy into the cabin.

    Trading Jeff and his Dog | James Arthur Kjelgaard
  • With hackles bristling and teeth bared he approached us, emitting savage growls.

    13 Days | John Alan Lyde Caunter
  • It was staring up at him fiercely from red eyes, and the hackles stood erect, though it did not growl.

    Heart of the Blue Ridge | Waldron Baily

Other Idioms and Phrases with hackles

hackles

see raise someone's hackles.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.