hair
gb/hˈɛɹ/ us/hˈɛɹ/
A1
English
~ 700
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A1
entity
1
Strands growing from skin
Thin threads that grow from the skin of people or animals, especially on the head.
Usage pattern:
[someone]'s hair
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'hair' (uncountable when referring to all the hair on the head) with 'hairs' (countable, meaning individual strands).
Synonyms
fur (Used for the thick body hair of many animals.)
|
locks (A more literary or poetic term, usually for human head hair.)
Antonyms
baldness (The state of having no hair on the head.)
Collocations
brush hair
|wash hair
|long hair
|short hair
|curly hair
|lose hair
Themes
daily life
|appearance
|biology
|body
|animals
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Her hair is long and straight.
- He cut his hair very short for the summer.
- The cat’s hair was soft and fluffy.
- She dyed her hair bright red.
- After the illness, he started losing his hair.
Learner examples
- My hair is black.
- She has short hair.
- I wash my hair every day.
- His hair is curly.
- The baby has no hair.
Noun
B2
quantity
2
Very tiny amount or margin
A very, very small amount or space.
Usage pattern:
by a hair
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize this meaning is figurative and not about actual hair.
Synonyms
fraction (Focuses on a small part of something, often in math or measurement.)
Antonyms
mile (Used figuratively to mean a very large distance or difference.)
Collocations
by a hair
|a hair's breadth
Themes
measurement
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- He won the race by a hair.
- The car missed the wall by a hair's breadth.
- We escaped disaster by a hair.
Learner examples
- I was late by a hair.
- She won by a hair.
- He missed the ball by a hair.
Grammar
Dictionary form
hair
IPA
GB/hˈɛɹ/
US/hˈɛɹ/
Syllables & stress
hair (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (hair)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: hair
- Plural: hair, hairs
Word family
Forms
hairs
noun
Core family
hairy
adjective A2
Related words
Negative and opposite forms
hairless
adjective
Advanced or less common
hairiness
noun
hairline
noun
Expressions
get in someone's hair
1/ɡˈɛt ˈɪn sˈʌmwˌʌnz hˈɛɹ/
idiom
informal
Annoy or bother someone
To keep bothering or annoying someone.
Examples
- The kids are getting in my hair today.
- He's been in my hair all week about that project.
let your hair down
1/lˈɛt jˈʊɹ hˈɛɹ dˈaʊn/
idiom
informal
Relax and have fun
To relax and enjoy yourself without worrying about what people think.
Examples
- It's Friday night—time to let your hair down!
- She really let her hair down at the party.
make one's hair stand on end
1/mˈeɪk wˈʌnz hˈɛɹ stˈænd ˈɔn ˈɛnd/
idiom
Cause fear or excitement
To make someone feel very scared or excited.
Examples
- The horror movie made my hair stand on end.
- His story about the accident made her hair stand on end.
not a hair out of place
1/nˈɑt ə hˈɛɹ ˈaʊt əv plˈeɪs/
idiom
Perfectly neat and tidy appearance
Looking perfectly neat and tidy.
Examples
- He walked in with not a hair out of place.
- Even after the long flight, she had not a hair out of place.
split hairs
1/splˈɪt hˈɛɹz/
idiom
Focus on tiny differences
To argue about very small differences that are not important.
Examples
- Stop splitting hairs and focus on the main issue.
- Stop splitting hairs and focus on the main point.
- We don't have time to split hairs over wording.
- They spent hours splitting hairs over the wording of the contract.