hairpin

1 of 2

noun

hair·​pin ˈher-ˌpin How to pronounce hairpin (audio)
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

hairpin

2 of 2

adjective

: 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
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 See More

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

First Known Use

Noun

1771, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1887, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hairpin was in 1771

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.

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
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

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