hairspray

British

/ ˈhɛəˌspreɪ /

noun

Also called: hair lacquer. a fixative solution sprayed onto the hair to keep a hairstyle in shape

"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.

Joan Cusack is marvelous despite the rainbow eyeshadow and fire hose of hairspray that turn her character into a cartoon.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2025

One of those games involved a can of hairspray from a joke shop, when the then-20-year-old dyed his hair green for Norwich's game with fierce rivals Ipswich in 1996.

From BBC • Jul. 31, 2025

I can remember holding a hairdryer and hairspray to get that big swoop.

From Salon • Oct. 8, 2023

The group recommends using a coat of hairspray to “seal the color and keep the dye from bleeding” into the potatoes, whose skins are more absorbent than eggshells.

From Washington Times • Apr. 5, 2023

His office still smelled of Esther Hartlieb's hairspray.

From "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023