hairline

American  

[hair-lahyn] / ˈhɛərˌlaɪn /

noun

• hairlines
  plural

1. a very slender line.

2. the lower edge of the hair, especially along the upper forehead.

   a hairline that slowly receded.

3. worsted fabric woven with very fine lines or stripes.

4. Printing.

   1. a very thin line on the face of a type.

   2. a style of type consisting entirely of such lines.

   3. a thin rule for printing fine lines.

   4. undesirable vertical lines between letters, caused by worn matrices.

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adjective

1. narrow or fine as a hair.

   a hairline fracture.

hairline British  

/ ˈhɛəˌlaɪn /

noun

1. the natural margin formed by hair on the head

2. 1. a very narrow line

   2. ( as modifier )

      a hairline crack

3. printing

   1. a thin stroke in a typeface

   2. any typeface consisting of such strokes

   3. thin lines beside a character, produced by worn or poorly cast type

4. a rope or line of hair

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hairlines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hairline

First recorded in 1725–35; hair + line ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hairline hairlines

My hair woes started in high school, when I would scrape my curls into a bun and lament how thin my hairline looked.

From Slate ● May 23, 2026

With his weathered face and receding hairline, he did not stand out for his movie star looks but for the intensity and depth he brought to his craft.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026

Not those hairline millimetre is he on or off line drawing nonsense situations.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026

But neither of his grandfathers had much; his father has a receding hairline.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026

Fred’s face was red and he had a sweaty hairline.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

An independent consultant and member of the British Numismatic Trade Association has provided a condition report describing the coin as having "a good cameo appearance" with "light hairlines and handling scuffs throughout".

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026

Everything from their birthday parties to their hairlines was scrutinized.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026

Back of the day, the NBA players used to look like they were 65, had hairlines back here.

From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2022

Yoon's party has not yet decided its position on traditional tattoos but supports legalising so-called cosmetic tattoos, which are semi-permanent and popular in South Korea for enhancing eyebrows, eyelines and hairlines.

From Reuters ● Feb. 21, 2022

All of this appeared in Centurion bold type—already antiquated in 1917—with delicate hairlines separating seven columns and subheads in bold serif relief.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

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