haircut

noun hair·cut \ ˈher-ˌkət \

|Updated on: 22 Jul 2018

Examples: haircut in a Sentence

Definition of haircut

1 : the act or process of cutting and shaping the hair

2 : hairdo

—

haircutter

play \ˈher-ˌkə-tər\ noun

—

haircutting

play \ˈher-ˌkə-tiŋ\ noun

See haircut defined for English-language learners

See haircut defined for kids

Examples of haircut in a Sentence

The girls got haircuts yesterday.
He just had a haircut.
Do you like my haircut?

Recent Examples of haircut from the Web

Across Russia for the last month, fans (and journalists) have used translation apps for everything: asking for directions, chatting with taxi drivers, getting slightly nerve-racking haircuts, checking into hotels, making friends, even flirting.

— rory smith, New York Times, "The Google Translate World Cup," 13 July 2018
Beyond haircuts, shaves and beard trims, Castellon offers a botanical wash that starts with raw aloe vera hand-muddled in a molcajete.

— maggie menderski, The Courier-Journal, "NuLu's new barbershop is keeping patrons as fresh as the neighborhood," 10 July 2018
And a neural network might find those squiggly lines in unexpected places — in someone’s haircut, for example, or a rumpled blanket.

— james vincent, The Verge, "Take a doodle, not a photograph, with this AI-powered camera," 6 July 2018
Manchester United legend Eric Cantona has hilariously mocked Brazilian star Neymar's new haircut, following Brazil's disappointing 1-1 draw with Switzerland.

— SI.com, "Man Utd Legend Eric Cantona Imitates Neymar's New Haircut By Putting Spaghetti on His Head," 19 June 2018
The three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday is traditionally a time of family visits and festive meals, with children getting new clothes, haircuts, and gifts.

— wafaa shurafa, BostonGlobe.com, "Gaza residents pray near Israel, as Muslims mark major feast," 15 June 2018
Secret haircuts, feeling the need to look iconic at all times, and being scrutinized by the entire world are just a few of the, uh, perks, that come with being a princess, but clearly Princess Diana knew how to handle living in the public eye.

— chloe metzger, Marie Claire, "Princess Diana Only Cut Her Hair 1/4 Inch at a Time so Fans Wouldn’t Notice," 15 June 2018
Gordon sports a pixie haircut, neat dresses and horn-rimmed glasses.

— andrea k. mcdaniels, baltimoresun.com, "Baltimore rapper and professor form unlikely friendship over health disparities class centered on "The Wire"," 13 June 2018
Paper Boi, who definitely had a day’s worth of frustration snapped on him, grasps him by the shirt and threatens him for that haircut.

— lauren alvarez, Billboard, "'Atlanta' Episode 5 Recap: Paper Boi's Absurd Adventures With His Barber," 30 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'haircut.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of haircut

1899

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

haircut Synonyms

Synonyms

coiffure, cut, do, hairdo, hairstyle;

bob, buzz cut, crew cut, crop, fade, Mohawk, shag, shingle, trim;

braid, pigtail, plait, ponytail, queue;

Financial Definition of HAIRCUT

haircut

noun

What It Is

A haircut is a reduction in an asset's value.

How It Works

For example, let's say the Greek government borrowed about $483 billion from banks, investment funds and other groups. Now it can't pay it back. So if an investor owns a Greek bond with a face value of, say, $1,000, the Greek government is now agreeing to pay back only $300. This means the investor will take a $700 haircut.

Why It Matters

Why would an investor settle for this? Because $300 is more than $0.

In a haircut situation, the only thing lenders can do is get together with other lenders and try to renegotiate with the borrower. Everybody goes into a crummy situation like this knowing that the borrower is probably never going to repay 100% of the debt, so the new objective is to get the borrower to pay back as much as possible.

A haircut doesn't always mean that the lenders are just going to let the borrower off the hook, though. The lenders might cut the interest rate on the debt way back or push the repayment date way out into the future. In our example, Greece might agree to pay back your $1,000, but they might do it at 2% for the next 30 years instead of 5% for the next 10 years.

Source: Investing Answers