hair

noun

ˈher How to pronounce hair (audio)
Synonyms of hairnext
often attributive
1
a
: a slender threadlike outgrowth of the epidermis of an animal
especially : one of the usually pigmented filaments that form the characteristic coat of a mammal
b
: the hairy covering of an animal or a body part
especially : the coating of hairs on a human head
2
: haircloth
3
a
: a minute distance or amount
won by a hair
b
: a precise degree
aligned to a hair
4
obsolete : nature, character
5
: a filamentous structure that resembles hair
leaf hair
hairless adjective
hairlessness noun
hairlike
ˈher-ˌlīk How to pronounce hair (audio)
adjective
see also:
hide or hair in one's hair let one's hair down out of one's hair split hairs tear one's hair turn a hair

Illustration of hair

Illustration of hair
  • 1 shaft
  • 2 sebaceous gland
  • 3 epidermis
  • 4 dermis
  • 5 hair follicle
  • 6 bulb
  • 7 papilla

Synonyms of hair

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of hair in a Sentence

He plucked a hair from his arm. There are dog hairs all over my coat. The hair on her arms is blond. He has a lot of hair on his chest. He got his hair cut last week. He has a thick head of hair. a balding man who is losing his hair He won the race by a hair. He was a hair off on the count.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
There are rippling gasps, drums, strings, sax, a vaguely Latin guitar, a sample of a woman talking about getting her hair done. — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026 Some food employees working with open food are wearing visors which are not effectively restraining their hair. — Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026 Today, his hair cropped shorter and greying, Ingalbee notes that many of those towering, old growth trees, their bark cloaked in moss, have burned in recent wildfires. — Kirk Siegler, NPR, 26 Oct. 2026 Welcome to Just My Type, a monthly series in which Glamour editors test-drive the latest and greatest in makeup, hair, and skin care. — Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Glamour, 26 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hair

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English hǣr; akin to Old High German hār hair

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of hair was before the 12th century

Phrases Containing hair

Rhymes for hair

See All Rhymes for hair

Browse Nearby Words

Haiphong
hair
hair's breadth
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hair. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

hair

noun
ˈha(ə)r How to pronounce hair (audio)
ˈhe(ə)r
1
a
: a slender threadlike growth from the skin of an animal
especially : one that usually contains coloring and forms part of the characteristic coat of a mammal
b
: a covering or growth of hairs of an animal or a body part
2
: a tiny distance or amount
won by a hair
3
: a threadlike structure that resembles hair
leaf hairs
haired
ˈha(ə)rd, 
ˈhe(ə)rd
adjective
hairless
ˈha(ə)r-ləs, 
ˈhe(ə)r-
adjective
hairlike
-ˌlīk How to pronounce hair (audio)
adjective

Medical Definition

hair

noun
ˈha(ə)r, ˈhe(ə)r How to pronounce hair (audio)
often attributive
1
: a slender threadlike outgrowth of the epidermis of 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
hairlike
-ˌlīk How to pronounce hair (audio)
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on hair

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hair

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All