whisker
[hwis-ker, wis-]
- whiskers, a beard.
- Usually whiskers. side whiskers.
- a single hair of the beard.
- Archaic. a mustache.
- one of the long, stiff, bristly hairs growing about the mouth of certain animals, as the cat or rat; vibrissa.
- Also called whisker boom, whisker pole. Nautical. any spar for extending the clew or clews of a sail so that it can catch more wind.
- Radio, Electronics. cat whisker.
- 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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- by a whisker, by the narrowest margin: She won the race by a whisker.
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Origin of whisker
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for whiskers
Contemporary Examples
In fact, traditional Chinese medicine outlines the uses for each component of a tiger, down to its nose leather and whiskers.
With the nation facing a graver crisis than Lincoln was so far willing to admit, his whiskers gave him…gravitas.
I sat beside John Bolton whose Nietzschean whiskers bristled at the turn history had taken.
Historical Examples
"He'd better improve his whiskers first thing he does," suggested Percival.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
With only whiskers nobody could take Monsieur for anything but an Englishman.
Camps, Quarters and Casual PlacesArchibald Forbes
"That'll be mostly hidden by his whiskers, when they grow," observed her guardian.
Look here, Mr. Sperry, how much is this bill with the whiskers?
The Fortune HunterLouis Joseph Vance
You can't see his face for his whiskers, and can't see his whiskers for the dye upon 'em.
Life And Adventures Of Martin ChuzzlewitCharles Dickens
whisker
- any of the stiff sensory hairs growing on the face of a cat, rat, or other mammalTechnical name: vibrissa
- any of the hairs growing on a person's face, esp on the cheeks or chin
- (plural) a beard or that part of it growing on the sides of the face
- (plural) informal a moustache
- Also called: whisker boom, whisker pole any light spar used for extending the clews of a sail, esp in light airs
- 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
- a person or thing that whisks
- a narrow margin; a small distancehe escaped death by a whisker
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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
Word Origin and History for whiskers
whisker
n.
"hair of a man's face" (usually plural), c.1600, originally a playful formation, from Middle English wisker "anything that whisks or sweeps" (early 15c.); see whisk (v.). In reference to animal lip hair, recorded from 1670s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with whiskers
whisker
see by a hair (whisker); win by a nose (whisker).
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.