1
: a pin to hold the hair in place
specifically
: a long U-shaped pin
2
: something shaped like a hairpin
specifically
: a sharp U-shaped turn in a road
: having the shape of a hairpin
a hairpin turn
also
: having hairpin turns
a steep hairpin road
Examples of hairpin in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Larissa Gao, NBC News, 5 Sep. 2023
The roads are dry, dusted with a milky layer of salt, and the all-wheel-drive R75 proves obliging, more than once bringing itself back into line for me as hairpin follows hairpin.
—Robin Swithinbank, Robb Report, 16 Apr. 2023
Brush the bangs into a side swoop and secure with a hairpin.
—Samantha Olson, Seventeen, 18 July 2023
That pace takes into account two near-dead-stop hairpins, countless second- and first-gear corners, and plenty of absolutely full throttle, sixth-gear sections.
—Rennie Scaysbrook, Robb Report, 30 June 2023
The other half has three larger slots which can each hold several mascaras, liners, foundation tubes, or any other smaller items, plus there’s a roomy zippered section for loose bits like hairpins, cotton swabs, or even jewelry.
—Morgan Ashley Parker, Travel + Leisure, 29 June 2023
Designed to be modular, more efficient, and quieter, the motors feature hairpin windings and direct oil cooling for the rotor and stator, resulting in a higher power density while reducing the need for rare-earth elements.
—Eric Stafford, Car and Driver, 25 July 2023
So Denker didn’t know why drivers almost uniformly hugged the left side of the track while headed for the hairpin.
—Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 5 June 2023
The Stelvio Pass [one of the highest mountain passes in Europe, near the border of Switzerland and Italy] required us to climb for hours in second gear, winding through hairpin after hairpin.
—A.j. Baime, WSJ, 30 July 2022
Stephanie Merry, Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2023
Its curves and hairpin turns were long favored by motorcyclists and street racers, but the stretch of road was deemed a high-collision corridor by the county following multiple fatal crashes.
—Jeremy Childs, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2023
Quite simply, a ballistic missile lobbed into the stratosphere with enough force to send it across the Pacific Ocean can’t pull off a hairpin turn to hit a target ‘just’ a few hundred miles away.
—Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 19 July 2023
The year after the university left, the county closed the town’s high school, too, so now many Montgomery kids take a 50-mile round-trip bus ride every day, up narrow hairpin roads to the more populous and prosperous towns up the valley.
—Nick Fouriezos, USA TODAY, 25 May 2023
Brody plays these hairpin temperamental turns for maximum comedic effect in what’s probably the funniest of his Anderson performances.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 26 June 2023
The sturdy, black steel legs, known as hairpin legs, were invented by industrial designer Henry P. Glass in New York City in 1941 and used very little steel, which was important during World War II when most steel was going to the war effort.
—Joseph Truini, Popular Mechanics, 5 Jan. 2023
The Ioniq 6 advances the 5’s system with hairpin windings for its electric motors.
—IEEE Spectrum, 22 Apr. 2023
McLaughlin, Power snag two podium spots for Penske On Lap 72, Grosjean slipped outside entering the hairpin Turn 5-6 complex, allowing McLaughlin the chance to pounce.
—Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Apr. 2023
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Noun
In August, a tourist was detained and fined for carving on the wall with a hairpin.
—Larissa Gao, NBC News, 5 Sep. 2023
The roads are dry, dusted with a milky layer of salt, and the all-wheel-drive R75 proves obliging, more than once bringing itself back into line for me as hairpin follows hairpin.
—Robin Swithinbank, Robb Report, 16 Apr. 2023
Brush the bangs into a side swoop and secure with a hairpin.
—Samantha Olson, Seventeen, 18 July 2023
That pace takes into account two near-dead-stop hairpins, countless second- and first-gear corners, and plenty of absolutely full throttle, sixth-gear sections.
—Rennie Scaysbrook, Robb Report, 30 June 2023
The other half has three larger slots which can each hold several mascaras, liners, foundation tubes, or any other smaller items, plus there’s a roomy zippered section for loose bits like hairpins, cotton swabs, or even jewelry.
—Morgan Ashley Parker, Travel + Leisure, 29 June 2023
Designed to be modular, more efficient, and quieter, the motors feature hairpin windings and direct oil cooling for the rotor and stator, resulting in a higher power density while reducing the need for rare-earth elements.
—Eric Stafford, Car and Driver, 25 July 2023
So Denker didn’t know why drivers almost uniformly hugged the left side of the track while headed for the hairpin.
—Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 5 June 2023
The Stelvio Pass [one of the highest mountain passes in Europe, near the border of Switzerland and Italy] required us to climb for hours in second gear, winding through hairpin after hairpin.
—A.j. Baime, WSJ, 30 July 2022
Adjective
The woman on the cover of her book is headed up a hill and around a hairpin turn, but the author who invented her is sailing along.
—Stephanie Merry, Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2023
Its curves and hairpin turns were long favored by motorcyclists and street racers, but the stretch of road was deemed a high-collision corridor by the county following multiple fatal crashes.
—Jeremy Childs, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2023
Quite simply, a ballistic missile lobbed into the stratosphere with enough force to send it across the Pacific Ocean can’t pull off a hairpin turn to hit a target ‘just’ a few hundred miles away.
—Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 19 July 2023
The year after the university left, the county closed the town’s high school, too, so now many Montgomery kids take a 50-mile round-trip bus ride every day, up narrow hairpin roads to the more populous and prosperous towns up the valley.
—Nick Fouriezos, USA TODAY, 25 May 2023
Brody plays these hairpin temperamental turns for maximum comedic effect in what’s probably the funniest of his Anderson performances.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 26 June 2023
The sturdy, black steel legs, known as hairpin legs, were invented by industrial designer Henry P. Glass in New York City in 1941 and used very little steel, which was important during World War II when most steel was going to the war effort.
—Joseph Truini, Popular Mechanics, 5 Jan. 2023
The Ioniq 6 advances the 5’s system with hairpin windings for its electric motors.
—IEEE Spectrum, 22 Apr. 2023
McLaughlin, Power snag two podium spots for Penske On Lap 72, Grosjean slipped outside entering the hairpin Turn 5-6 complex, allowing McLaughlin the chance to pounce.
—Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Apr. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hairpin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near hairpin
Cite this Entry
“Hairpin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hairpin. Accessed 21 Sep. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
hairpin
noun
hair·pin
-ˌpin
1
: a U-shaped pin to hold the hair in place
2
: something shaped like a hairpin
especially
: an extremely sharp turn in a road
hairpin
adjective
Medical Definition
hairpin
noun
hair·pin
ˈha(ə)r-ˌpin, ˈhe(ə)r- 
variants
also hairpin loop
: a region in single-stranded RNA or DNA that is double-stranded due to pairing between purine and pyrimidine bases in adjacent sequences of the RNA or DNA that are complementary and inverted
More from Merriam-Webster on hairpin
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hairpin
Nglish: Translation of hairpin for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hairpin
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