harelip

[ hair-lip ]

/ ˈhɛərˌlɪp /

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noun

Usually Offensive. cleft lip.

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Origin of harelip

First recorded in 1560–70; hare + lip

usage note for harelip

The term harelip is usually perceived as insulting because it compares the deformity in humans to the normal cleft lip of a hare. The accepted term for this medical condition is cleft lip.

OTHER WORDS FROM harelip

harelipped, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH harelip

harebrained, harelip

Words nearby harelip

hare and hounds, harebell, harebrained, hareem, Hare Krishna, harelip, harem, harem pants, hare's-foot, hare's-foot fern, harestail

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use harelip in a sentence

Harwood might treat her, as she said, like a step-child with a harelip, but occasionally she made him sit up.
A Hoosier Chronicle|Meredith Nicholson
Common illustrations of such deforming developmental accidents are harelip, cleft palate, and club foot.
The Mother and Her Child|William S. Sadler
Jean was even more illfavored, having a scar across his mouth which gave him an artificial harelip.
Greener Than You Think|Ward Moore
There is just the possibility that a contrivance like our harelip pin with a figure of eight thread may be indicated.
Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times|John Stewart Milne

He was a man with a harelip and a pure heart, and everybody said he was as true as steel.
Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

British Dictionary definitions for harelip

harelip

/ (ˈhɛəˌlɪp) /

noun

a congenital cleft or fissure in the midline of the upper lip, resembling the cleft upper lip of a hare, often occurring with cleft palatePreferred form cleft lip

Derived forms of harelip

harelipped, adjective

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