hairpin

noun hair·pin \ ˈher-ˌpin \

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of hairpin

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

See hairpin defined for English-language learners

See hairpin defined for kids

Recent Examples of hairpin from the Web

Fast sweepers and tight hairpins, inclines and declines, and one terrifying off-camber and downhill left (Turn 10).

— Car and Driver, "Lightning Lap 2017: 19 New Performance Cars Attack America's Most Grueling Racetrack!," 30 Sep. 2017
Guirgis has a great ear for the shifting, self-contradicting rhythms of real speech, and Kevin Jones, who has one of the best voices in Portland, navigates the playwright's hairpin turns with grace and power.

— OregonLive.com, "'Between Riverside and Crazy' looks at the cruel cost of moving on," 12 Mar. 2018
But the plants had no roots; they were made of plastic and affixed to hairpins.

— ligaya mishan, New York Times, "The Power of Wearing Flowers," 16 Feb. 2018
Here, the graves were loaded with shell and turquoise jewelry, stone animal carvings, bone hairpins, and whole jars and stone points.

— chip colwell, The Atlantic, "Your Bones Live On Without You," 18 Oct. 2017
The race goes on indoors on the electric go-karts at NASCAR I-Drive Cart Racing, and along the hairpin turns at K1 Speed in Orlando.

— rich pope, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Escape the rat race for a go-kart," 13 Oct. 2017
In fact, Project Cirrus escaped prosecution for the Savannah debacle largely because a meteorologist with a good memory tracked down reports of a 1906 hurricane that had taken the exact same hairpin turn in the Atlantic.

— sam kean, The Atlantic, "The Chemist Who Thought He Could Harness Hurricanes," 5 Sep. 2017
Finish the look by pinning the top section underneath the bottom section with a hairpin.

— jihan forbes, Allure, "6 Super Easy Summer Updos That Keep Your Hair Off Your Neck," 17 July 2017
Many of the branches in your music are loaded with hairpin turns and complex vocal harmonies.

— david patrick stearns, Philly.com, "Grammy winner Esperanza Spalding has found a new creative home base in Philly," 17 July 2017

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

First Known Use of hairpin

1771

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

hairpin

adjective

Definition of hairpin

: having the shape of a hairpin

a hairpin turn

; also : having hairpin turns

a steep hairpin road

Recent Examples of hairpin from the Web

In some places along the drive, the speed limit will drop to 15 or 20 mph for hairpin curves, and even skilled drivers will do well to heed those warnings.

— kiona smith-strickland, Popular Mechanics, "The Talimena Scenic Drive: Fall Leaves in the Ouachitas," 3 Oct. 2013
The road from his usual James Bond suave to Joe Bang’s twang being a long one with lots of hairpin curves.

— jennifer brett, ajc, "What NASCAR has to say about Atlanta-filmed “Logan Lucky”," 19 Aug. 2017
The narrow two-lane road left little room for error, with hairpin curves and drop-offs of several hundred feet at several spots.

— brady macdonald, latimes.com, "A trip on Route 66 proves to be uncharted territory for a master planner," 9 June 2017

First Known Use of hairpin

1887

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

HAIRPIN Defined for English Language Learners

hairpin

noun

Definition of hairpin for English Language Learners

: a pin that is worn in your hair; especially : a pin shaped like a U that is worn to hold your hair in place
: an extremely sharp turn in a road that is shaped like a U

HAIRPIN Defined for Kids

hairpin

noun hair·pin \ ˈher-ˌpin \

Definition of hairpin for Students

: a pin in the shape of a U for holding the hair in place

Medical Dictionary

hairpin

noun hair·pin \ ˈha(ə)r-ˌpin, ˈhe(ə)r- \

variants: also hairpin loop

medical Definition of hairpin

: 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