hair's-breadth n : a very small distance or space; "they escaped by a hair's-breadth"; "they lost the election by a whisker" [syn: hairsbreadth, hair, whisker]hairsbreadth n : a very small distance or space; "they escaped by a hair's-breadth"; "they lost the election by a whisker" [syn: hair's-breadth, hair, whisker]

English

Alternative forms

• hairbreadth
• hair's breadth

Etymology

hair's + breadth

Pronunciation

• (Canada): /ˈhɛrzbrɛdθ/, /"hErzbrEdT/
• (UK): /ˈhɛərzbrɛdθ/, /"hE@rzbrEdT/

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;

   • 1857, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit

     ... 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. Standfast

     We've missed our shot by a hairsbreadth and that's the same as missing by miles.

Derived terms

• to a hair's breadth