Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Extremely close.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The diameter or breadth of a hair; an infinitesimal space or distance. Among the Jews a hairbreadth was reckoned the 48th part of an inch; in Burma it is of an inch. Now generally written hair's-breadth.
- Of the breadth of a hair; extremely narrow.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Having the breadth of a hair; very narrow.
- The diameter or breadth of a hair; a very small distance; sometimes, definitely, the forty-eighth part of an inch.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun the
width of ahair , a veryshort distance or a very small amount
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word hairbreadth.
Examples
-
In short, these kind of hairbreadth missings of happiness look like the insults of Fortune, who may be considered as thus playing tricks with us, and wantonly diverting herself at our expense.
-
In short, these kind of hairbreadth missings of happiness look like the insults of Fortune, who may be considered as thus playing tricks with us, and wantonly diverting herself at our expense.
History of Tom Jones, a Foundling Henry Fielding 1730
-
Come, did you have any 'hairbreadth' 'scapes or moving accidents by field and flood? "
'Smiles' A Rose of the Cumberlands Eliot H. Robinson
-
With a vast array of characters, overflowing with incident, the novel re-creates an era when the personal and political are separated by a hairbreadth, where success brings unlimited power but a single failure means death.
Wolf Hall: Summary and book reviews of Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. 2009
-
The incomparable Emerson clan is a hairbreadth away from unearthing the legendary site they've been searching for.
Tomb of the Golden Bird by Elizabeth Peters: Book summary 2010
-
Limbaugh came within a hairbreadth of owning an NFL team.
Bad Sports Dave Zirin 2010
-
Limbaugh came within a hairbreadth of owning an NFL team.
Bad Sports Dave Zirin 2010
-
Limbaugh came within a hairbreadth of owning an NFL team.
Bad Sports Dave Zirin 2010
-
But everything about what one feels (and in the end, does) about whether to have a child depends on making these hairbreadth grammatical distinctions.
-
But everything about what one feels (and in the end, does) about whether to have a child depends on making these hairbreadth grammatical distinctions.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.