hair follicle

American  

noun

Anatomy.

1. a small cavity in the epidermis and corium of the skin, from which a hair develops.

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hair follicle British  

noun

1. a narrow tubular cavity that contains the root of a hair, formed by an infolding of the epidermis and corium of the skin

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Etymology

Origin of hair follicle

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hair follicle

“And I think everyone’s universally saying there a lot of different kinds of decisions we do not want part of our game. Toenail offsides, hair follicle arguments.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

But Tsuji says his study identified a "novel third cell type", called a hair follicle regenerative-supporting cell.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

As of right now, dermatologists don’t know the root cause of FAPD, though they believe it might show up in midlife due to a decline in estrogen, which protects against hair follicle inflammation.

From Slate ● May 23, 2026

Others are former hair follicle stem cells, which usually promote hair growth but respond to the more urgent needs of the moment, morphing into epidermal stem cells to bolster local ranks and repair efforts.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2024

It crawls to the base of the hair and burrows into the hair follicle.

From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry