Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Synonyms
Nearby Words

hairlike

 - 4 dictionary results

hair

  [hair]
Use hairlike in a Sentence
–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
7. get in someone's hair, Slang. to annoy or bother someone: Their snobbishness gets in my hair.
8. hair of the dog, Informal. a drink of liquor, supposed to relieve a hangover: Even a hair of the dog didn't help his aching head. Also, hair of the dog that bit one.
9. let one's hair down, Informal.
a. to relax; behave informally: He finally let his hair down and actually cracked a joke.
b. to speak candidly or frankly; remove or reduce restraints: He let his hair down and told them about his anxieties.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. tear one's hair, to manifest extreme anxiety, grief, or anger: He's tearing his hair over the way he was treated by them. Also, tear one's hair out.
13. to a hair, perfect to the smallest detail; exactly: The reproduction matched the original to a hair.
14. without turning a hair, without showing the least excitement or emotion. Also, not turn a hair.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME heer, OE hǣr (c. D, G haar, ON hār), with vowel perh. from ME haire hair shirt < OF < OHG hāria (c. ME here, OE hǣre, ON hǣra)

Related forms:
hairlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To hairlike
Word Origin & History

hair 
O.E. hær, from P.Gmc. *khæran (cf. O.S., O.N., O.H.G. har, O.Fris. her, Du., Ger. haar "hair"), from PIE *ker(s)- "to bristle" (cf. Lith. serys "bristle"). Modern spelling infl. by O.E. haire "haircloth," from O.Fr. haire, from Frank. *harja. Hairy in slang sense of "difficult" is first recorded 1848. Hairbreadth (1561) is said to have been formerly a formal unit of measure equal to one-forty-eighth of an inch. Hairdresser is first recorded 1771; hairdo is 1932, from do (v.). A hairpin turn, etc., is from 1906. A hair-trigger (1830) was originally a secondary trigger in a firearm which sprung free a mechanism (hair) which, when set, allowed the main trigger to be released by very slight force. Hair-raising "exciting" is first attested 1897. To let one's hair down "become familiar" is first recorded 1850. To split hairs "make over-fine distinctions" is first recorded 1652, as to cut the hair. Phrase hair of the dog that bit you (1546), homeopathic remedy, is in Pliny.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: hair
Pronunciation: 'ha(&)r, 'he(&)r
Function: noun
often attributive 1 : a slender threadlike outgrowth of the epidermisof an animal; especially : one of the usually pigmented filaments that form the characteristic coat of a mammal
2 : the hairy covering of an animal or a body part;especially : the coating of hairs on a human head —hair·like /-"lIk/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

hair (hâr)
n.

  1. Any of the cylindrical, keratinized, often pigmented filaments characteristically growing from the epidermis of a mammal.

  2. A growth of such filaments, as that forming the coat of an animal or covering the scalp of a human.

  3. One of the fine hairlike processes of a sensory cell.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see hairlike on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way