hair

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)
     • • •

COLLOCATIONS

■ colour

   ▪ 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.

■ length

   ▪ 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.

■ type

   ▪ 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.

■ condition

   ▪ 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.

■ verbs

   ▪ 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 + NOUN

   ▪ 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.

■ phrases

   ▪ 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.

■ COMMON ERRORS

    ► Do not say 'I cut my hair' if another person cut your hair for you. Say I had my hair cut'.