hairball

[ hair-bawl ]

noun
  1. a ball of hair accumulated in the stomach or intestines of a cat or other animal as a result of the animal's licking its coat.

Origin of hairball

1
First recorded in 1705–15; hair + ball1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for hairball

hairball

/ (ˈhɛəˌbɔːl) /


noun
  1. a compact mass of hair that forms in the stomach of cats, calves, etc, as a result of licking and swallowing the fur, and causes vomiting, coughing, bloat, weight loss, and depression

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