Standard Lemma guide

hairline

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ˈhɛɹˌlaɪn/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: HH EH1 R L AY2 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The line along one's forehead where hair starts growing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • It's just a receding hairline — it's not like you're going bald.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A very thin line in writing, drawing, or typography.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A very thin fissure.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

Examples

  • While inspecting the new house, we found a few hairlines in one of the walls.
  • There was a hairline crack in the airplane's wing.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A fishing line made from hair.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

the natural margin formed by hair on the head

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: boundary, bound, bounds

6

noun

Meaning 6

a very thin line

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: line

Narrower terms: hair stroke

History

Etymology

From hair + line.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 髮際線 /发际线 (fàjìxiàn) — line along one's forehead where hair starts growing
  • Finnish: hiusraja — line along one's forehead where hair starts growing
  • Hungarian: hajvonal — line along one's forehead where hair starts growing
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hårfeste — line along one's forehead where hair starts growing
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hårfeste — line along one's forehead where hair starts growing
  • Sicilian: scrima — line along one's forehead where hair starts growing
  • Spanish: línea capilar — line along one's forehead where hair starts growing
  • Spanish: nacimiento piloso — line along one's forehead where hair starts growing
  • Turkish: saç çizgisi — line along one's forehead where hair starts growing
  • Finnish: hiusviiva — thin line
  • Hungarian: hajszálvonal — thin line
  • Sicilian: scrima — thin line
  • Finnish: hiusmurtuma — very thin fissure
  • German: Haarriss — very thin fissure
  • Sicilian: çaccazza — very thin fissure