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

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

He’s now WSU’s leading scorer by a hair, averaging 15.6 points over Rice’s 15.5, and he’s also the team’s best rebounder.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 28, 2023

Coming in at number fourteen in the rankings, I’d missed making the thirteen-woman team by a hair, but it might as well have been a mile.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

Related Words

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