hairsbreadth
1
6.9
- noun
- /ˈhɛrˌsbrɛdθ/
- Informal
:
un pelo
- First, Renato took me to Mount Cayambe, a hairsbreadth short of nineteen thousand feet above sea level, its summit smack dab on the equator and always covered with ice.
- comes within a hairsbreadth
Examples
-
I guess it's really easy to imagine they did happen to me, because some of them could be a hairsbreadth away.
Blog text (26) -
The knife misses the dancer by a hairsbreadth, landing on the floor near her foot.
Fiction book (2002) -
He came within a hairsbreadth of bringing the corporation down.
-
It seems very unlikely to me that for ages the world has been only a hairsbreadth away.
Blog text (23) -
The scant delay, the stay in time that lasts a hairsbreadth.
Fiction book (1992) -
In front of him was a great oaken door, open the slightest hairsbreadth.
Fiction book (2002) -
With triumph assured, even Yama relented, though only a hairsbreadth.
Fiction book (2000) -
The car missed the pedestrian by a hairsbreadth, highlighting how close the accident could have been.
-
The athlete won the race by a hairsbreadth, demonstrating just how competitive the event was.
-
She was a hairsbreadth away from winning the contest, impressing the judges with her talent.
Synonyms
30
4.7
A very small amount showing how close something was to happening
9
1.0
A thin piece of hair
3
5.6
A very small distance or amount
3
5.3
A very small amount or distance
1
6.3
A very small distance in a close call
1
9.9
The width of a finger used as a quick measure
How Small
- Informal
1
6.9
- Specialized
140
2.5
- US
92
1.0
- Specialized
621
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Hairsbreadth comes from the old phrase hair's breadth, literally a hair's breadth meaning 'the width of a hair'. So, when something happens by a hairsbreadth, it happens by a very small distance or just barely.