Hair Definition & Meaning

American

British

Scientific

More Idioms

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms hair American [hair] / hɛər /

noun

1. any of the numerous fine, usually cylindrical, keratinous filaments growing from the skin of humans and animals; a pilus.

2. an aggregate of such filaments, as that covering the human head or forming the coat of most mammals.

3. a similar fine, filamentous outgrowth from the body of insects, spiders, etc.

4. Botany. a filamentous outgrowth of the epidermis.

5. cloth made of hair from animals, as camel and alpaca.

6. a very small amount, degree, measure, magnitude, etc.; a fraction, as of time or space.

   He lost the race by a hair.

idioms

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. without turning a hair, without showing the least excitement or emotion. Also not turn a hair.

5. to a hair, perfect to the smallest detail; exactly.

   The reproduction matched the original to a hair.

6. hair of the dog, 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.

7. let one's hair down,

   1. to relax; behave informally.

      He finally let his hair down and actually cracked a joke.

   2. to speak candidly or frankly; remove or reduce restraints.

      He let his hair down and told them about his anxieties.

8. get in someone's hair, to annoy or bother someone.

   Their snobbishness gets in my hair.

hair British / hɛə /

noun

1. any of the threadlike pigmented structures that grow from follicles beneath the skin of mammals and consist of layers of dead keratinized cells

2. a growth of such structures, as on the human head or animal body, which helps prevent heat loss from the body

3. botany any threadlike outgrowth from the epidermis, such as a root hair

4. 1. a fabric or material made from the hair of some animals

   2. ( as modifier )

      a hair carpet

      a hair shirt

5. another word for hair's-breadth

   to lose by a hair

6. informal to annoy someone persistently

7. an alcoholic drink taken as an antidote to a hangover

8. informal keep calm

9. to behave without reserve

10. to show no surprise, anger, fear, etc

11. to make petty and unnecessary distinctions

"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 hair Scientific / hâr /

1. 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.

2. A slender growth resembling a mammalian hair, found on insects and other animals.

3. A fine, threadlike growth from the epidermis of plants.

4. See more at trichome

hair More Idioms

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

Other Word Forms

• dehair verb (used with object)
• hairlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of hair

First recorded before 900; Middle English heer, Old English hǣr (cognate with Dutch, German haar, Old Norse hār ), with vowel perhaps from Middle English haire “hair shirt,” from Old French, from Old High German hāria (cognate with Middle English here, Old English hǣre, Old Norse hǣra )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Finally the sport has let its hair down about horrors like bat flips and guess what: It’s been good for baseball.

From The Wall Street Journal

For millennials and Gen Z readers who worship collectibles like Labubus, friendship bracelets and butterfly hair clips, it’s natural that art direction would follow suit — sometimes with an ironic twist.

From Los Angeles Times

With shoulder-length brown hair, the boy stayed close to his mother on the night of her historic win as fans and photographers swarmed them both.

From Los Angeles Times

The prisoner is taller and bigger than him, with a thick black beard and long hair.

From BBC

He's always been interested in fitness and looking good, but only became involved in looksmaxxing when he began to lose his hair aged 21.

From BBC

Related Words

• eyebrow
• fiber
• fur
• grass
• haircut
• hairstyle
• mane
• sideburn
• strand
• wig
• wool

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.