hair
[noun]
Synonyms: locks, head of hair, mane, mop, shock, tresses

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Related Words: bit, fraction, jot, mite, particle, trace, trifle

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

Hair
a musical (=a play that uses singing and dancing to tell a story) from the 1960s about hippies. When it was first performed it was considered to be very shocking by most people, because it includes scenes in which the actors do not wear any clothes.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

hair S1 W1 /heə $ her/ noun
[Word Family: noun: hair, hairiness; adjective: hairless ≠ hairy]
[Language: Old English; Origin: hær]

1. [uncountable] the mass of things like fine threads that grows on your head:
Her hair was short and dark.
a short fat man with no hair on his head
fair-haired/dark-haired/long-haired etc
He’s a tall fair-haired guy.
GRAMMAR
In this meaning, hair is an uncountable noun:
He has black hair (NOT black hairs).

2. [countable] one of the long fine things like thread that grows on people’s heads and on other parts of their bodies, or similar things that grow on animals:
The cat has left white hairs all over the sofa.
I’m starting to get a few grey hairs.
long-haired/short-haired
long-haired cats

3. be tearing/pulling your hair out to be very worried or angry about something, especially because you do not know what to do:
Anyone else would have been tearing their hair out trying to work it out.

4. let your hair down informal to enjoy yourself and start to relax, especially after working very hard:
The party gave us all a chance to really let our hair down.

5. bad hair day a day when your hair does not look tidy or neat even when you try to arrange it carefully – used humorously:
I’m having a bit of a bad hair day.

6. keep your hair on British English spoken used to tell someone to keep calm and not get annoyed:
All right, all right, keep your hair on! I’m sorry.

7. get in sb’s hair informal to annoy someone, especially by always being near them

8. make sb’s hair stand on end to make someone very frightened

9. make sb’s hair curl if a story, experience etc makes your hair curl, it is very surprising, frightening, or shocking:
tales that would make your hair curl

10. not have a hair out of place to have a very neat appearance

11. not turn a hair to remain completely calm when something bad or surprising suddenly happens

12. not harm/touch a hair of/on sb’s head to not harm someone in any way

13. the hair of the dog (that bit you) alcohol that you drink to cure a headache caused by drinking too much alcohol the night before – used humorously
⇒ have a good/fine/thick etc head of hair at head¹(14), ⇒ not see hide nor hair of at hide²(5), ⇒ split hairs at split¹(8)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

hair
noun
ADJ. auburn, black, blond, brown, chestnut, dark, fair, ginger, golden, grey, grizzled, jet-black, red, sandy, white, yellow | bushy, coarse, crinkly, curly, fine, frizzy, smooth, straight, thick, wavy, wiry | beautiful, glossy, shiny, sleek | dishevelled, dry, dull, fuzzy, greasy, scruffy, tousled, unruly, untidy, windswept a new shampoo for dull or dry hair His hair was tousled and he looked as if he'd just woken up.
cropped, long, short, shoulder-length She had shoulder-length black hair.
body, facial, pubic | cat, dog, etc. The rug was covered with cat hairs.
QUANT. lock, wisp
VERB + HAIR have She had beautiful auburn hair.
lose He had turned forty and was beginning to lose his hair.
wear She wore her long hair loose on her shoulders.
arrange, do, tidy I don't like the way she's arranged her hair, do you? I'll be down in a minute, I'm just doing my hair.
plait, put up, tie back Why don't you put your hair up for this evening?
brush, comb | shampoo, wash | cut, trim He went to the barber's to have his hair cut.
curl, perm I've decided to have my hair permed.
grow I'm trying to grow my hair.
HAIR + VERB grow Why don't you let your hair grow?
curl His hair curls naturally.
fall, hang, lie Her blond hair fell over her eyes.
gleam, glint, glisten
HAIR + NOUN loss how to cope with hair loss

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

hair

dark
He’s about six feet tall, with dark hair and blue eyes.
black
his long black hair
jet black literary (=completely black)
She had shiny jet black hair, and skin as white as snow.
fair
Her long fair hair fell untidily over her shoulders.
blond/blonde (=yellowish-white in colour)
long blonde hair and blue eyes
golden
the beautiful girl with the long golden hair
brown
Her hair was pale brown.
chestnut literary (=dark brown)
She had a fine head of chestnut hair.
sandy (=yellowish-brown)
He wore his long, sandy brown hair in a ponytail.
mousy (=an unattractive dull brown)
I have pale, mousy hair that is dull and lacks shine.
red
The whole family had red hair.
ginger British English (=orange-brown in colour)
a cheeky little boy with ginger hair
auburn literary (=orange-brown in colour)
He gazed at her long neck and beautiful auburn hair.
white
an old man with white hair
grey British English, gray American English
She was about 70, with grey hair.
silver
Her father’s hair was starting to turn silver.
short
I like your hair when it’s short like that.
long
A few of the boys had long hair.
shoulder-length/medium-length
He had shoulder-length reddish hair.
straight
a girl with long straight hair
curly
When he was young, his hair was thick and curly.
frizzy (=tightly curled)
She had dark frizzy hair which might have been permed.
wavy (=with loose curls)
Her golden wavy hair fell around her shoulders.
thick
She had thick hair down to her waist.
fine (=thin)
Her hair is so fine, it’s difficult to style.
spiky (=stiff and standing up on top of your head)
Billy had black spiky hair.
in good/bad/terrible etc condition
How do you keep your hair in such perfect condition?
out of condition (=no longer in good condition)
If your hair is out of condition, this may be because you are eating the wrong foods.
glossy/shiny
She combed her hair until it was all glossy.
lustrous literary (=very shiny and attractive)
her lustrous dark hair flowing on to her shoulders
dull (=not shiny)
a shampoo for dull hair
greasy (=containing too much oil)
This shampoo is ideal for greasy hair.
dry (=lacking oil)
a shampoo for dry hair
lank especially literary (= thin, straight, and unattractive)
a scruffy young man with lank hair
thinning (=becoming thinner because you are losing your hair)
His dark hair was thinning on top.
receding (=gradually disappearing, so that it is high on your forehead)
The man was in his late thirties, and his hair was receding slightly.
dishevelled especially literary (=very untidy)
His face was bright red and his hair looked dishevelled.
tousled especially literary (=a little untidy, in a way that looks attractive)
his youthfully handsome face and tousled hair that hung untidily over his collar
windswept especially literary (=blown around by the wind)
Her hair was all windswept when they came off the beach.
have ... hair
She has beautiful blonde hair.
brush/comb your hair
He cleaned his teeth and brushed his hair.
wash your hair
He showered and washed his hair.
do your hair (also fix your hair American English) (=arrange it in a style)
She’s upstairs doing her hair.
have your hair cut/done/permed (also get your hair cut etc) (=by a hairdresser)
I need to get my hair cut.
cut sb’s hair
My Mum always cuts my hair.
dye your hair (blonde/red etc) (=change its colour, especially using chemicals)
Craig has dyed his hair black.
wear your hair long/in a ponytail etc (=have that style of hair)
He wore his hair in a ponytail.
grow your hair (long) (=let it grow longer)
I’m growing my hair long, but it’s taking forever.
lose your hair (=become bald)
He was a small, round man who was losing his hair.
run your fingers through sb’s hair (=touch someone’s hair in a loving way)
He ran his fingers through her smooth silky hair.
ruffle sb’s hair (=rub it in a kind friendly way)
He patted me on the back and ruffled my hair.
hair loss
The drug can cause hair loss.
hair colour British English, hair color American English
Genes control characteristics such as hair colour and eye colour.
hair dye
The survey showed that 75% of women have used hair dye.
a strand/wisp of hair (=a thin piece of hair)
She brushed away a strand of hair from her eyes.
a lock of hair (=a fairly thick piece of hair)
She tossed a stray lock of hair back off her forehead.
a mop of hair (=a large amount of thick untidy hair)
He had an unruly mop of brown hair.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

hair
noun
1.
BAD: He had a black hair and very clear eyes.
GOOD: He had black hair and very clear eyes.
BAD: Her beautiful blond hairs were shining in the sun.
GOOD: Her beautiful blond hair was shining in the sun.

Usage Note:
When you mean 'a single hair' or 'several individual hairs', hair is a countable noun: 'There was a long black hair in my soup.' 'Stand still and I'll brush the hairs off your jacket.'
When you mean 'all the hair on a person's head', hair is uncountable: 'Where do you go to have your hair cut?'

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2.
See CUT 4 (cut)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

hair
hɛə
See: curl one's hair , get gray hair or get gray , give gray hair , hang by a thread or hang by a hair , hide or hair or hide nor hair , in one's hair , let one's hair down , out of one's hair , split hairs , tear one's hair

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲