Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

make one's hair stand on end

 - 6 dictionary results

hair

  [hair]
Use make one's hair stand on end 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 make one's hair stand on end
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
Science Dictionary
hair   (hâr)  Pronunciation Key 


(click for larger image in new window)

  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. See more at trichome.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Idioms & Phrases

make one's hair stand on end

Also, make one's hair curl. Terrify one, as in The very thought of an earthquake makes my hair stand on end, or Diving off a high board is enough to make my hair curl. The first term, first recorded in 1534, alludes to goose pimples prompted by fear, which cause the hairs around them to stand up. The variant dates from the mid-1900s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see make one's hair stand on end on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way