hairpin

American  

[hair-pin] / ˈhɛərˌpɪn /

noun

hairpins plural

1. a slender U -shaped piece of wire, shell, etc., used by women to fasten up the hair or hold a headdress.

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adjective

1. (of a road, curve in a road, etc.) sharply curved back, as in a U shape.

   a hairpin turn.

hairpin British  

/ ˈhɛəˌpɪn /

noun

1. a thin double-pronged pin used by women to fasten the hair

2. (modifier) (esp of a bend in a road) curving very sharply

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hairpins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hairpin

First recorded in 1770–80; hair + pin

Explanation

A hairpin is a small clip or pin that's used to secure hair in place. A bride's fancy braided hairdo usually requires many hairpins and plenty of hairspray to hold it. A bobby pin is one type of hairpin, a small bent piece of metal that pins strands of hair against the scalp. Most hairpins share this narrow, bent shape, and it's from this sharp angle that the term "hairpin turn" gets its name. A bend in a road that doubles back in a tight curve is a hairpin turn or a hairpin bend. This slang meaning dates from the early 20th century.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hairpin hairpins

Steep ascents, hairpin bends and stretches of unpaved road have added to the difficulties facing this tourist town, whose visitors have unsurprisingly stopped visiting while fish sales have stalled.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

It is a mountainous road with sharp turns, and an image shared by the emergency services appears to show it crashing near a hairpin bend.

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026

Antonelli then passed Hamilton into the hairpin on lap 11 before Audi's Nico Hulkenberg stopped in the run-off area at Turn One with a technical failure to bring out the safety car.

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026

Checking up before a tight hairpin—braking late, downshifting with the paddle shifters, turning hard into hairpin corners, the weight of the wheel growing heavy, the little engine piping at full spool.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026

I reached down and took the hairpin, and as I did, it grew longer and heavier in my hand, until I held a familiar bronze sword.

From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan

The runway-turned-test track was overhauled in 2011—new layout, fresh asphalt, safety barriers—and now includes two clinically perfect, constant-radius 180-degree turns: the hairpins of destiny.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

But when Arabidopsis seedlings sense they're under attack, special enzymes called RNA helicases are produced that unzip the hairpins so the ribosomes can pass through and continue scanning along the mRNA molecule.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2023

In 2004, it was reported that 15 "historically important" Chinese artefacts - including jewels, ornate hairpins and fingernail guards - had been taken by a member of the public.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2023

The Carlisle gems were found along with more than 700 items, including 105 glass beads, pottery, weapons, coins, clay figures, animal bones, tiles stamped with the imperial mark and some 100 hairpins.

From New York Times ● May 1, 2023

It was pitifully small; how could hairpins make a dent in that creature’s hide?

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas