hair

The word “hair” means a thin strand that grows from the skin of humans and many animals. In plain terms, the thin strands that grow from skin, especially on the head, or a tiny amount of something.

“Hair” is pronounced HEH-uh (/ˈhɛɚ/ in IPA).

Here is “hair” used in a sentence: “A single grey hair stood out among the rest.”

“Hair” is a noun.

The word “hair” comes from Old English. From Old English hær, an ancient Germanic word going back to a root meaning "to scrape or comb," found with close cousins in Dutch (haar) and German (Haar).

“Hair” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Hair” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a thin strand that grows from the skin of humans and many animals.

Hair and hare sound alike but are unrelated. Hair is the thin strand that grows from the skin of humans and animals. A hare is an animal, similar to a rabbit but larger, with long ears and powerful hind legs. Only the spelling and pronunciation link is a source of confusion.

Hair works both ways. As an uncountable noun it refers to the whole mass on your head, as in "her hair is long." As a countable noun it refers to individual strands, as in "there is a hair in my soup." The meaning shifts with how you use it.

You might say, "He brushed the hair out of his eyes," or "The cat left hair all over the sofa." The word covers both the strands on a person's head and the fur-like growth on animals, all thin strands growing from the skin.