whisker

American  

[hwis-ker, wis-] / ˈʰwɪs kər, ˈwɪs- /

noun

1. whiskers, a beard.

2. Usually whiskers. side whiskers.

3. a single hair of the beard.

4. Archaic. a mustache.

5. one of the long, stiff, bristly hairs growing about the mouth of certain animals, as the cat or rat; vibrissa.

6. Also called whisker boom,.  Also called whisker pole.  Nautical. any spar for extending the clew or clews of a sail so that it can catch more wind.

7. Radio, Electronics. cat whisker.

8. Crystallography. a thin filament of a crystal, usually several millimeters long and one to two microns in diameter, having unusually great strength.

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idioms

1. by a whisker, by the narrowest margin.

   She won the race by a whisker.

whisker British  

/ ˈwɪskə /

noun

1. Technical name: vibrissa.  any of the stiff sensory hairs growing on the face of a cat, rat, or other mammal

2. any of the hairs growing on a person's face, esp on the cheeks or chin

3. (plural) a beard or that part of it growing on the sides of the face

4. informal (plural) a moustache

5. Also called: whisker boom.   whisker pole.  any light spar used for extending the clews of a sail, esp in light airs

6. chem a very fine filamentary crystal having greater strength than the bulk material since it is a single crystal. Such crystals often show unusual electrical properties

7. a person or thing that whisks

8. a narrow margin; a small distance

   he escaped death by a whisker

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whisker More Idioms  

1. see by a hair (whisker); win by a nose (whisker).

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Other Word Forms

• whiskery adjective

Etymology

Origin of whisker

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; whisk, -er ¹

Example Sentences

New research published Thursday in the journal Science details how the whiskers that cover an elephant's trunk have unique properties that lend the largest land mammals remarkable dexterity.

From Barron's

She’s fully asleep on her velvet throne, whiskers twitching occasionally.

From Literature

Slowly it edged closer, quivering, until its whiskers were touching his knee.

From Literature

His gray fur looks soft, and his whiskers twitch as he gets closer, like he’s trying to get a sniff of me.

From Literature

He slides a toe along one whisker to its end, then lets it spring and sparkle in the moonlight.

From Literature