hair's breadth

He won the race by a hair's breadth.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • An extremely small distance or margin: "hair's breadth" refers to a very narrow amount of space, difference, or separation, often used to describe a close call or a narrow escape.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • He missed the target by a hair's breadth. (He missed by an extremely small distance.)
  • The car came within a hair's breadth of hitting the pedestrian. (The car nearly struck the person; the margin was tiny.)

Advanced Usage

• "by a hair's breadth": used to emphasize that something was avoided or achieved by an extremely small margin.
  • She escaped the accident by a hair's breadth. (She narrowly avoided the crash.)
• "within a hair's breadth of": very close to achieving or experiencing something.
  • The team was within a hair's breadth of winning the championship. (They were extremely close to victory.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hairbreadth (adj): extremely narrow or fine, often used in compounds.
  • A hairbreadth escape (a very narrow escape from danger.)

Synonyms

• Whisker: a very small distance or amount (informal).
  • He lost by a whisker. (He lost by a tiny margin.)
• Iota: a very small amount.
  • There is not an iota of truth in that claim. (No truth at all.)

Related Idioms

• Within a hair's breadth of: very close to something (often death, success, or disaster).
  • He was within a hair's breadth of death after the fall. (He nearly died.)
• By a hair's breadth: by the narrowest possible margin.
  • She passed the exam by a hair's breadth. (She passed with the minimum score possible.)