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hair
[ hair ]
noun
- any of the numerous fine, usually cylindrical, keratinous filaments growing from the skin of humans and animals; a pilus.
- an aggregate of such filaments, as that covering the human head or forming the coat of most mammals.
- a similar fine, filamentous outgrowth from the body of insects, spiders, etc.
- Botany. a filamentous outgrowth of the epidermis.
- cloth made of hair from animals, as camel and alpaca.
- a very small amount, degree, measure, magnitude, etc.; a fraction, as of time or space:
He lost the race by a hair.
hair
/ ɛə /
noun
- any of the threadlike pigmented structures that grow from follicles beneath the skin of mammals and consist of layers of dead keratinized cells
- a growth of such structures, as on the human head or animal body, which helps prevent heat loss from the body
- botany any threadlike outgrowth from the epidermis, such as a root hair
- a fabric or material made from the hair of some animals
- ( as modifier )
a hair shirt
a hair carpet
- another word for hair's-breadth
to lose by a hair
- get in someone's hair informal.to annoy someone persistently
- hair of the dog or hair of the dog that bit onean alcoholic drink taken as an antidote to a hangover
- keep your hair on! informal.keep calm
- let one's hair downto behave without reserve
- not turn a hairto show no surprise, anger, fear, etc
- split hairsto make petty and unnecessary distinctions
hair
- One of the fine strands that grow from the skin of mammals, usually providing insulation against the cold. Modified hairs sometimes serve as protective defenses, as in the quills of a porcupine or hedgehog, or as tactile organs, as in the whiskers (called vibrissae ) of many nocturnal mammals. Hair filaments are a modification of the epidermis of the skin and are composed primarily of keratin. Hair also contains melanin, which determines hair color.
- A slender growth resembling a mammalian hair, found on insects and other animals.
- A fine, threadlike growth from the epidermis of plants.
- See more at trichome
Derived Forms
- ˈˌ, adjective
Other Word Forms
- · adjective
- · verb (used with object)
Word History and Origins
Origin of hair1
Word History and Origins
Origin of hair1
Idioms and Phrases
- get in someone's hair, Slang. to annoy or bother someone:
Their snobbishness gets in my hair.
- hair of the dog, Informal. a drink of liquor, supposed to relieve a hangover: Also hair of the dog that bit one.
Even a hair of the dog didn't help his aching head.
- let one's hair down, Informal.
- to relax; behave informally:
He finally let his hair down and actually cracked a joke.
- to speak candidly or frankly; remove or reduce restraints:
He let his hair down and told them about his anxieties.
- make one's hair stand on end, to strike or fill with horror; terrify:
The tales of the jungle made our hair stand on end.
- split hairs, to make unnecessarily fine or petty distinctions:
To argue about whether they arrived at two o'clock or at 2:01 is just splitting hairs.
- tear one's hair, to manifest extreme anxiety, grief, or anger: Also tear one's hair out.
He's tearing his hair over the way he was treated by them.
- to a hair, perfect to the smallest detail; exactly:
The reproduction matched the original to a hair.
- without turning a hair, without showing the least excitement or emotion. Also not turn a hair.
More idioms and phrases containing hair
- bad hair day
- by a hair
- by the short hairs
- fair-haired boy
- get gray hair from
- hang by a thread (hair)
- hide or hair
- in someone's hair
- let one's hair down
- make one's hair stand on end
- put lead in one's pencil (hair on one's chest)
- split hairs
- tear one's hair
- turn a hair
Example Sentences
The shooter reportedly fled on a scooter following the attack in a hair salon in the centre of the city, triggering a manhunt.
The shooting took place at a hair salon close to Vaksala Square in the centre of the city, local media reported.
Her tireless work rate, bubbly personality and a penchant for dyeing her hair different pastel colors made her one of the team’s most popular players in the team’s inaugural season.
We meet Selena, a goth “content creator” with green streaks in her hair, a razor blade earring and a spiked choker, who would like to look more approachable, like Alicia Silverstone in “Clueless.”
The resulting piece was a pair of butterfly wings braided into her hair intended to symbolize her recent metamorphosis.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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