# hair

Pronunciation: say "HAIR" US /hɛ(ə)ɹ/, UK /hɛə/

## Noun

1. The fine threadlike strands that grow from the skin of people and animals, especially on the head; also a single such strand.
   - Simple: The thin threads that grow on your head and body, or one of these threads.
   - _He let his hair grow long over the summer._
   - _Thick winter hair kept the husky warm in the snow._
2. A very small distance or degree; the narrowest measurable margin between two things.
   - Simple: A very small amount or distance.
   - _His putt missed the cup by a hair._
   - _The two readings differ by only a hair._
3. A thin hairlike strand growing from a plant, an insect or other invertebrate, or projecting from the surface of a material.
   - Simple: A very thin thread that grows on a plant or insect, or sticks out from something.
   - _Stinging hairs on the nettle inject an irritant when touched._
   - _A hooked hair on the bean leaf can trap small insects._

## Verb

4. To grow hair in a spot that was previously bald.
   - Simple: To grow new hair where a spot was bald before.
   - _The vet said the shaved patch on the dog's leg would hair over within a few weeks._
   - _The saddle sores on the old mare healed in June and had haired over by the time the fall shows began._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To remove the hair from a surface, especially an animal hide during tanning.
- (noun) Complexity or difficulty; the tangled, troublesome quality that makes a task or situation hard to handle.
- (verb) To provide something with hair, such as a figure, or a violin bow with horsehair.
- (noun) A locking spring or safety device in the lock of a rifle or similar firearm, released by slight pressure on a hair-trigger.

## Origin

From Middle English her, from Old English hǣr, from Proto-Germanic *hērą, perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European root *kes- ("to scrape, comb"); it is related to Dutch haar, German Haar and Swedish hår. The irregular ai spelling came from the influence of Middle English here ("haircloth") and Old French haire.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hair (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).