hair
any of the numerous fine, usually cylindrical, keratinous filaments growing from the skin of humans and animals; a pilus.
an aggregate of such filaments, as that covering the human head or forming the coat of most mammals.
a similar fine, filamentous outgrowth from the body of insects, spiders, etc.
Botany. a filamentous outgrowth of the epidermis.
cloth made of hair from animals, as camel and alpaca.
a very small amount, degree, measure, magnitude, etc.; a fraction, as of time or space: He lost the race by a hair.
Idioms about hair
get in someone's hair, Slang. to annoy or bother someone: Their snobbishness gets in my hair.
hair of the dog, Informal. a drink of liquor, supposed to relieve a hangover: Even a hair of the dog didn't help his aching head.: Also hair of the dog that bit one.
let one's hair down, Informal.
to relax; behave informally: He finally let his hair down and actually cracked a joke.
to speak candidly or frankly; remove or reduce restraints: He let his hair down and told them about his anxieties.
make one's hair stand on end, to strike or fill with horror; terrify: The tales of the jungle made our hair stand on end.
split hairs, to make unnecessarily fine or petty distinctions: To argue about whether they arrived at two o'clock or at 2:01 is just splitting hairs.
tear one's hair, to manifest extreme anxiety, grief, or anger: He's tearing his hair over the way he was treated by them.: Also tear one's hair out.
to a hair, perfect to the smallest detail; exactly: The reproduction matched the original to a hair.
without turning a hair, without showing the least excitement or emotion.: Also not turn a hair.
Origin of hair
1Other words from hair
- hairlike, adjective
- de·hair, verb (used with object)
Words that may be confused with hair
- hair , hare
Words Nearby hair
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use hair in a sentence
Third, the combo of baobab and castor seed oils helps seal and smooth out dry hair and promote hair growth.
Tower 28 Announces Winner Of The Clean Beauty Summer School Program | Hope Wright | September 17, 2020 | Essence.comYou may not see it but you are eating it and washing your hair with it.
The Environmental Headache in Your Shampoo - Issue 90: Something Green | Anastasia Bendebury & Michael Shilo DeLay | September 16, 2020 | NautilusHis given name was Richard, but as soon as his hair came in, he was Red.
Dawn of the Heliocene - Issue 90: Something Green | Summer Praetorius | September 16, 2020 | NautilusThe state’s worst tier — the dreaded purple tier — would allow only hair salons and barber shops to continue operating indoors at full capacity.
Morning Report: The Dreaded Purple Tier | Voice of San Diego | September 16, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoSo proper that his salt-and-pepper hair is never out of place.
Spy Wars: The Hidden Foe America Must Defeat to Save Its Democracy | Charu Kasturi | September 13, 2020 | Ozy
Cassandra, whose hair has already begun to fall out from her court-mandated chemotherapy, could face a similar outcome.
But his fingers moved through her silky strands of hair, and then down her neck.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’ | Asawin Suebsaeng | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTShe used electrolysis to banish the prickly hair from her delicate face.
They dye their hair and alter their clothes, but not enough to attract attention from authorities.
North Korea’s Secret Movie Bootleggers: How Western Films Make It Into the Hermit Kingdom | Lizzie Crocker | December 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHangover Rx: “The old ‘hair of the dog’ is pretty much just a myth,” says White.
I pictured him as slim and young looking, smooth-faced, with golden curly hair, and big brown eyes.
The Boarded-Up House | Augusta Huiell SeamanHe was tall and of familiar figure, and the firelight was playing in the tossed curls of his short, fair hair.
The Bondboy | George W. (George Washington) OgdenHis hair was darker—almost brown save at the temples, where age had faded it to an ashen colour.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniHe frowned, and bent his head, and his long hair fell over his face, while the poor Stuttgardter sat there like a beaten hound.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayHe stood before the glass hung above the wash bench and 369 smoothed his hair.
The Bondboy | George W. (George Washington) Ogden
British Dictionary definitions for hair
/ (hɛə) /
any of the threadlike pigmented structures that grow from follicles beneath the skin of mammals and consist of layers of dead keratinized cells
a growth of such structures, as on the human head or animal body, which helps prevent heat loss from the body
botany any threadlike outgrowth from the epidermis, such as a root hair
a fabric or material made from the hair of some animals
(as modifier): a hair carpet; a hair shirt
another word for hair's-breadth to lose by a hair
get in someone's hair informal to annoy someone persistently
hair of the dog or hair of the dog that bit one an alcoholic drink taken as an antidote to a hangover
keep your hair on! British informal keep calm
let one's hair down to behave without reserve
not turn a hair to show no surprise, anger, fear, etc
split hairs to make petty and unnecessary distinctions
Origin of hair
1Derived forms of hair
- hairlike, adjective
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
Scientific definitions for hair
[ hâr ]
One of the fine strands that grow from the skin of mammals, usually providing insulation against the cold. Modified hairs sometimes serve as protective defenses, as in the quills of a porcupine or hedgehog, or as tactile organs, as in the whiskers (called vibrissae) of many nocturnal mammals. Hair filaments are a modification of the epidermis of the skin and are composed primarily of keratin. Hair also contains melanin, which determines hair color.
A slender growth resembling a mammalian hair, found on insects and other animals.
A fine, threadlike growth from the epidermis of plants. See more at trichome.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with hair
In addition to the idioms beginning with hair
- hair of the dog that bit you
- hair shirt
also see:
- bad hair day
- by a hair
- by the short hairs
- fair-haired boy
- get gray hair from
- hang by a thread (hair)
- hide or hair
- in someone's hair
- let one's hair down
- make one's hair stand on end
- put lead in one's pencil (hair on one's chest)
- split hairs
- tear one's hair
- turn a hair
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse