hairbreadth

Etymology

hair + breadth

noun

  1. Alternative form of hair's breadth: the width of a hair, a very short distance or a very small amount.
    This surely was a day destined to be signalized by hairbreadth escapes. 1799, Charles Brockden Brown, Edgar Huntly
    Measure Maddalena, and measure Minerva, and from forehead to chin, you won't find a hairbreadth of difference between them. 1856, Wilkie Collins, After Dark
    […] for the young hero rioted by day, howled by night, ravaged the house from top to bottom, and kept his guardians in a series of panics by his hairbreadth escapes. 1876, Louisa May Alcott, Rose in Bloom

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