Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

hair's-breadth

British  

noun

    1. a very short or imperceptible margin or distance

    2. ( as modifier )

      a hair's-breadth escape

"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

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.

See Examples For:

But the story’s many twists and hair’s-breadth escapes — its devolution into a Holocaust picaresque — lack the foundation of historical truth that undergirded the writer’s debut effort.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2025

As the FBI dragged its feet, they didn’t know — no one did — that the state of emergency was a hair’s-breadth from activation.

From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2017

They've found excuses to turn nearly every moment into a frantic race against the clock, driving the characters from one hair's-breadth escape to the next.

From The Verge ● Jul. 22, 2016

This time, a New Hampshire win would go even further to juice up her campaign after her unsatisfying hair's-breadth win in Iowa.

From US News ● Feb. 9, 2016

Surely any one who can turn them a hair’s-breadth from their benighted ignorance is to be applauded.

From Richard Galbraith, Mariner Life among the Kaffirs by Emma Watts Phillips

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Just like flashcards, but way more fun

Don't take our word for it. Leave the boring studying behind and join VocabTrainer today. You'll learn even faster and never look back.

Take me to Vocabulary.com