bristle
noun
one of the short, stiff, coarse hairs of certain animals, especially hogs, used extensively in making brushes.
bristles
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pluralof bristle.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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present tense formof bristle (3rd person singular).present tense
Used to describe things happening now or regularly.
bristlenounone of the short, stiff, coarse hairs of certain animals, especially hogs, used extensively in making brushes.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An exquisite anthology of Cohn’s writing from his early days through the present, “Corner Boy” bristles with the electric, contrarian voice of a working cultural critic.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
She bristles when she realizes some dentists are using AI images to upsell patients—deploying color-coded overlays to dramatize borderline findings and justify questionable treatments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Elephants are born with about 1,000 of these bristles, lead author Andrew Schulz told AFP, many of them anchored in the trunk's wrinkles to act like feelers and help the animals assess their surroundings.
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
Cohen bristles at the term meme stock, telling the Journal it is “a label people use when they don’t want to do the work” on a stock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
It had doughy, unhealthy skin and red hair that stuck up in bristles.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
