hairs
hairs — noun
- hairssingular
- hairsesplural
1. The fine, thread-like strands found on the bodies of people and animals, treated
The fine, thread-like strands found on the bodies of people and animals, treated as individual items that can be counted rather than as one mass.
Nadia found several long grey hairs on her coat after visiting the barber.
countable plural: several + hairs
The old cat left black hairs all over the white sofa.
Tariq brushed a few stray hairs away from his eyes before putting on his helmet.
Mert noticed white hairs in his beard when he looked in the mirror this morning.
- strands
More general; can refer to threads of any material (hair, wool, cotton). 'Strands of hair' is more formal than 'hairs'.
- locks
Poetic or literary; usually refers to a bunch or clump of hair on the head, not individual strands.
- tresses
Literary; refers to long, flowing hair on a woman's head, never to animal hair or single strands.
文法句型
hairs (plural count noun)
用法筆記
Unlike the uncountable noun 'hair' (which refers to a mass), 'hairs' is countable and points to individual strands. Use 'hairs' when you want to talk about a specific number of strands — for example, 'three grey hairs' or 'a few stray hairs'.
常見錯誤
2. An extremely tiny margin, distance, or amount — used in fixed expressions such a
An extremely tiny margin, distance, or amount — used in fixed expressions such as 'by a hair' or 'a hair's breadth' to describe a very narrow difference or a close call.
The sprinter won the race by a hair, so the judges studied the photo finish carefully.
fixed expression: by a hair (narrow margin)
Nila missed the train by a hair and had to wait two hours for the next one.
The taxi missed the cyclist by a hair, and everyone on the street gasped.
Vivek's guess was off by a hair — he said 501, and the real answer was 500.
The two paintings were different by a hair's breadth, so only an expert could tell them apart.
- miles
Informal, used contrastively: 'by miles' means 'by a very wide margin'.
文法句型
by a hair
a hair's breadth
not by a hair
用法筆記
This sense is restricted to a small set of fixed expressions. 'By a hair' often follows verbs of narrowly achieving or missing something (win, lose, miss, escape). 'A hair's breadth' replaces 'hair' in the same pattern but is slightly more formal.
常見錯誤
3. Thin, hair-like growths on the surface of a plant or other organism, such as the
Thin, hair-like growths on the surface of a plant or other organism, such as the tiny fibres on a leaf, stem, or the body of some insects.
The small hairs on the nettle leaf can sting when you brush against them.
Dylan examined the fine hairs covering the stem of the tomato plant under a magnifying glass.
collocation: fine hairs + covering + [plant part]
Some caterpillars have poisonous hairs on their bodies to keep predators away.
The tiny hairs on the edges of the leaf help the plant trap small insects for food.
- trichomes
The precise scientific term for plant hairs; far more technical and rarely used outside biology.
- fibres
Broader; can refer to any thread-like structure, including plant hairs, but also to wood, fabric, or muscle fibres.
- bristles
Refers to short, stiff hairs on plants or animals; suggests a rougher texture than 'hairs'.
文法句型
hairs (botanical structures)
用法筆記
This botanical sense is a specialised extension of the 'hair' meaning. It appears mainly in biology or gardening contexts. The word 'trichomes' is the formal scientific term for plant hairs.