Synonyms of hairbreadth

hairbreadth 1 of 2

adjective

as in narrow

showing little difference in the standing of the competitors

a hairbreadth victory, but a victory nevertheless

Synonyms & Similar Words

• narrow
• close
• tight
• crowded
• down-to-the-wire
• nip and tuck
• neck and neck

hairbreadth

2 of 2

noun

ˈher-ˌbretth 

variants or hairsbreadth

as in inch

a very small distance or degree

just missed the bull's-eye by a hairbreadth

Synonyms & Similar Words

• inch
• step
• neck
• hair
• bit
• hairline
• shouting distance
• ace
• stone's throw
• trifle
• hop, skip, and jump
• smidgen
• particle
• jot
• iota
• minim
• crumb
• dab
• mite
• trace

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• mile
• long haul
• infinity
• country mile
• light-year

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hairbreadth

Adjective

In the end, Cuellar and his corporate backers carried the day (one marked also by the Uvalde school massacre), albeit by a hairbreadth margin. — Andrew Cockburn, Harper’s Magazine , 20 July 2022

That mad quest for immortality is only one thread in an intricate narrative that encompasses witchcraft, impossible transformations, hairbreadth escapes, killer clowns and an assortment of innovative murders. — Washington Post, 28 Nov. 2021

Nancy Pelosi will have a hairbreadth four-vote majority in the House with two seats still undecided. — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 17 Dec. 2020

The hairbreadth outcome in the race belied its sweeping consequences. — Author: Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Mar. 2018

Noun

Such was not completely unexpected, for Comet MAPS was a Kreutz sungrazer, a type of comet that comes literally within a hairbreadth of the sun. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 7 Apr. 2026

The year closed with the hairbreadth victory of a law-and-order Presidential nominee whose Southern strategy of racial politicking remade the electoral map. — Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker, 9 Jan. 2017

Phrases Containing hairbreadth

• hairbreadth escape