whisker

[ hwis-ker, wis- ]

/ ˈʰwɪs kər, ˈwɪs- /

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See synonyms for: whisker / whiskers on Thesaurus.com

noun

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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Idioms about whisker

by a whisker, by the narrowest margin: She won the race by a whisker.

Origin of whisker

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at whisk, -er¹

OTHER WORDS FROM whisker

whisk·er·y, adjective

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

How to use whisker in a sentence

In fact, traditional Chinese medicine outlines the uses for each component of a tiger, down to its nose leather and whiskers.
China Is Brewing Wine From Tiger Bones|Brendon Hong|July 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then he pointed to my sunken cheeks where a couple gray whiskers poked through.
The Fourth War: My Lunch with a Jihadi|Elliot Ackerman|January 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Prince Harry has been ordered to shave off his ginger whiskers by no higher authority than the Queen herself.
Prince Harry Ordered to Shave His Polar Beard|Tom Sykes|January 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After a few years of stubble, the lumberjack whiskers returned, now dyed black.
Learning To Fear Dodger Pitcher Brian Wilson’s Beard|Sujay Kumar|October 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST

There was Coco the other day, on Page Six, his familiar red coiffure now underlined by some bright, red whiskers.
The Exit Beard|The Daily Beast|February 18, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Sol laughed out of his whiskers, with a big, loose-rolling sound, and sat on the porch without waiting to be asked.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
Under the internal pressure his whiskers stood on end and his face grew red.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
One is of my own poor sex, a man, a thing of whiskers; the other has the honour to belong to that sex which—have I said it?
First Plays|A. A. Milne
The black wig and whiskers lay near him; but the real hair, light and scanty, was pushed back from the damp brow.
Elster's Folly|Mrs. Henry Wood
There the man has lived—if you can call such an existence living; Willy Gum, concealed by his borrowed black hair and whiskers.
Elster's Folly|Mrs. Henry Wood

British Dictionary definitions for whisker

whisker

/ (ˈwɪskə) /

noun

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

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with whisker

whisker

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

whisker

Idioms about whisker

Origin of whisker

OTHER WORDS FROM whisker

Words related to whisker

How to use whisker in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for whisker

Other Idioms and Phrases with whisker