Hairsbreadth

Pronunciation

• Canada IPA: /ˈhÉ›rzbrÉ›dθ/
• UK IPA: /ˈhɛərzbrÉ›dθ/

Alternative forms

• hairbreadth
• hair's breadth

Origin

hair's + breadth

Full definition of hairsbreadth

Noun

1. a very short distance or a very small amount (as is the width of a hair)
• 1597, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Act IV, Scene 2)I see you are obsequious in your love, and I profess requital to a hair's breadth;
• Dickens Little Dorrit|1|30... it was characteristic of this man, as it is of all men similarly marked, that whatever he did, he overdid, though it were sometimes by only a hairsbreadth...
• 1919, John Buchan, Mr. StandfastWe've missed our shot by a hairsbreadth and that's the same as missing by miles.
• 2010, Neil McDonald, Quadrant, March 2010, No. 464 (Volume LIV, Number 3), Quadrant Magazine Limited, page 100:In Avatar the spectacular rides to the rescue and hairsbreadth escapes have the whole film behind them and because of that are dramatically and emotionally satisfying.

Derived terms

• to a hair's breadth

Anagrams

• hairbreadths