hair

[ hair ]

See synonyms for hair on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

First recorded before 900; Middle English heer, Old English hǣr (cognate with Dutch, German haar, Old Norse hār ), with vowel perhaps from Middle English haire “hair shirt,” from Old French, from Old High German hāria (cognate with Middle English here, Old English hǣre, Old Norse hǣra )

Other 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.com
You 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 | Nautilus
His 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 | Nautilus
The 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 Diego
So 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.
Should Teens Have The Right To Die? | Brandy Zadrozny | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
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 BEAST
She used electrolysis to banish the prickly hair from her delicate face.
Inside A Finishing School for Transwomen | Sharon Adarlo | December 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
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 BEAST
Hangover Rx: “The old ‘hair of the dog’ is pretty much just a myth,” says White.
5 Hangover Cures to Save You After a Few Too Many | DailyBurn | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
I pictured him as slim and young looking, smooth-faced, with golden curly hair, and big brown eyes.
The Boarded-Up House | Augusta Huiell Seaman
He 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) Ogden
His hair was darker—almost brown save at the temples, where age had faded it to an ashen colour.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
He 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 Fay
He 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

hair

/ (hɛə) /

noun

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

Old English hær; related to Old Norse hār, Old High German hār hair, Norwegian herren stiff, hard, Lettish sari bristles, Latin crescere to grow

Derived 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

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.

Other Idioms and Phrases with hair

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

Browse