hair
Americannoun
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any of the numerous fine, usually cylindrical, keratinous filaments growing from the skin of humans and animals; a pilus.
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an aggregate of such filaments, as that covering the human head or forming the coat of most mammals.
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a similar fine, filamentous outgrowth from the body of insects, spiders, etc.
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Botany. a filamentous outgrowth of the epidermis.
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cloth made of hair from animals, as camel and alpaca.
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a very small amount, degree, measure, magnitude, etc.; a fraction, as of time or space.
He lost the race by a hair.
idioms
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tear one's hair, to manifest extreme anxiety, grief, or anger: Also tear one's hair out.
He's tearing his hair over the way he was treated by them.
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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.
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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.
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without turning a hair, without showing the least excitement or emotion. Also not turn a hair.
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to a hair, perfect to the smallest detail; exactly.
The reproduction matched the original to a hair.
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hair of the dog, a drink of liquor, supposed to relieve a hangover: Also hair of the dog that bit one.
Even a hair of the dog didn't help his aching head.
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let one's hair down,
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to relax; behave informally.
He finally let his hair down and actually cracked a joke.
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to speak candidly or frankly; remove or reduce restraints.
He let his hair down and told them about his anxieties.
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get in someone's hair, to annoy or bother someone.
Their snobbishness gets in my hair.
noun
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any of the threadlike pigmented structures that grow from follicles beneath the skin of mammals and consist of layers of dead keratinized cells
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a growth of such structures, as on the human head or animal body, which helps prevent heat loss from the body
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botany any threadlike outgrowth from the epidermis, such as a root hair
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a fabric or material made from the hair of some animals
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( as modifier )
a hair carpet
a hair shirt
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another word for hair's-breadth
to lose by a hair
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informal to annoy someone persistently
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an alcoholic drink taken as an antidote to a hangover
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informal keep calm
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to behave without reserve
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to show no surprise, anger, fear, etc
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to make petty and unnecessary distinctions
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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.
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A slender growth resembling a mammalian hair, found on insects and other animals.
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A fine, threadlike growth from the epidermis of plants.
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See more at trichome
Other Word Forms
- dehair verb (used with object)
- hairlike adjective
Etymology
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 )
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.
Scientists at the University of Utah analyzed hair samples and discovered steep declines in lead levels going back more than a century.
From Science Daily
In a North Carolina factory, it pulls glass strands as thin as a human hair, yet upward of 30 miles long.
"When I was going to school, I'd be doing my hair and makeup at like three o'clock in the morning, put music on, like literally had no concept of time."
From BBC
Sometimes he sent smaller treats: flowers, spa certificates, a 2018 Valentine’s day gift of “hair/makeup” services plus a $25 tip charged on his credit card.
The man seemed to have his head on upside down; there was hair on the chin, but none on the head.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
