razor

[rey-zer]

noun

1. a sharp-edged instrument used especially for shaving the face or trimming the hair.

2. an electrically powered instrument used for the same purpose.

verb (used with object)

1. to shave, cut, or remove with or as if with a razor.

razor

/ ˈreɪzə /

noun

1. a sharp implement used esp by men for shaving the face

2. in an acute dilemma

verb

1. (tr) to cut or shave with a razor

Other Word Forms

• razorless adjective
• unrazored adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of razor¹

1250–1300; Middle English rasour < Old French rasor, equivalent to ras ( er ) to raze + -or -or ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of razor¹

C13: from Old French raseor , from raser to shave; see _raze

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on the razor's edge, in a difficult or precarious position.

see sharp as a tack (razor).

Example Sentences

The room is filled with just about every type of consumer product imaginable sent in from clients: chips, shoes, razors, supplements, suitcases, shower heads, toothpaste, pillows printed with the faces of pets.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The rooftop overlooks a flimsy fence crowned with razor wire around the compound, and about one mile of farmland between Nir Oz and southern Gaza.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The next morning, when the recruits are ordered to shave, one nervously eyes his razor and curses to himself.

Read more on Salon

Young readers will cheer for the doughty girl, who braves the razored depths to haul the baby dragon to safety in this satisfying, sumptuously illustrated fable translated from the French by Alyson Waters.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Any width was unceremoniously punished but anything too straight would travel, too - the margin for error for South Africa's bowlers was razor thin.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• blade 
• knife 
• shaver