by a hair

Idioms  

1. Also,. Very narrowly. For example, His serve was out by a hair, or We made our flight by a hairbreadth, or Dad missed hitting the pole by a whisker. The first two hyperboles for the very narrowest margin date from the 1300s and 1400s respectively; whisker meaning “a small amount” was first recorded in 1913. Also see by the skin of one's teeth; hang by a hair.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

by a hair

Although revenue grew 2.5% to $2.56 billion, the number missed analysts’ calls for $2.57 billion by a hair.

From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026

As of Wednesday, the measure was winning by a hair.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2024

Boebert won against Democrat Adam Frisch by a hair in 2022, earning just 546 more votes of the over 327,000 cast, according to The Daily Beast.

From Salon ● Dec. 29, 2023

Mr. Florio ran again in 1981, winning the Democratic nomination but losing the general election to Mr. Kean, a moderate Republican, by a hair — fewer than 2,000 votes out of 2.3 million cast.

From New York Times ● Sep. 26, 2022

“Last time, we beat them by a hair, but they play dirty. We know it, they know it, but the refs up here don’t.”

From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan

Related Words

• barely
• comparatively
• practically
• rarely
• seldom
• simply
• somewhat