hair — ODE · Shobdo

hair /hɛː

▸ noun

1 any of the fine threadlike strands growing from the skin of humans, mammals, and some other animals:

coarse outer hairs overlie the thick underfur

thick black hairs on his huge arms.

▪ a fine threadlike strand growing from the epidermis of a plant, or forming part of a living cell:

scalloped leaves edged with silver hairs

it damages the cilia, tiny hairs that clear invading bacteria from the lung.

2 [mass noun] hairs collectively, especially those growing on a person's head:

her shoulder-length fair hair.

3 (a hair) a very small quantity or extent:

his magic takes him a hair above the competition.

– PHRASES

hair of the dog informal
an alcoholic drink taken to cure a hangover.

[from hair of the dog that bit you, formerly recommended as a remedy for the bite of a mad dog]

in someone's hair informal
annoying or causing inconvenience to someone.

out of someone's hair informal
not or no longer annoying or causing inconvenience to someone:

can you keep the kids out of my hair this afternoon?.

keep your hair on! British English informal
used to urge someone not to panic or lose their temper.

let one's hair down informal
behave in an uninhibited way:

let your hair down and just have some fun.

make someone's hair stand on end
alarm or horrify someone:

any kind of siren makes my hair stand on end.

not a hair out of place
used to convey that a person is extremely neat and tidy in appearance:

she was perfectly made up with not a hair out of place.

not turn a hair
remain apparently unmoved or unaffected:

if I was told I'd been sacked tomorrow, I don't think I'd turn a hair.

split hairs
make small and unnecessary distinctions:

this may seem like splitting hairs but the distinction could be important.

– DERIVATIVES

hairlike adjective

– ORIGIN Old English hǣr, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch haar and German Haar.