What does "hairbreadth" mean?

Alternative form of hair's breadth: the width of a hair, a very short distance or a very small amount.

What is a synonym for "hairbreadth"?

Common synonyms include: ace, bit, bowshot, brief span, close quarters, close range.

Pronounced //ˈhɛɹˌbɹɛdθ//.

//ˈhɛɹˌbɹɛdθ// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Alternative form of hair's breadth: the width of a hair, a very short distance or a very small amount. alt-of, alternative
"In short, these kind of hairbreadth missings of happiness look like the insults of Fortune, who may be considered as thus playing tricks with us, and wantonly diverting herself at our expense."

"Genius and madness are but a hairbreadth away from each other."

From hair + breadth.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.