hair

hair S1 W1 / heə $ her / 名词

1 [不可数名词] the mass of things like fine threads that grows on your head :

Her hair was short and dark.

a short fat man with no hair on his head

fair-haired/dark-haired/long-haired etc

He’s a tall fair-haired guy.

Grammar

In this meaning, hair is an uncountable 名词 :

He has black hair (NOT black hairs).

2 [可数名词] one of the long fine things like thread that grows on people’s heads and on other parts of their bodies, or similar things that grow on animals :

The cat has left white hairs all over the sofa.

I’m starting to get a few grey hairs.

long-haired/short-haired

long-haired cats

3 be tearing/pulling your hair out to be very worried or angry about something, especially because you do not know what to do :

Anyone else would have been tearing their hair out trying to work it out.

4 let your hair down informal to enjoy yourself and start to relax, especially after working very hard :

The party gave us all a chance to really let our hair down.

5 bad hair day a day when your hair does not look tidy or neat even when you try to arrange it carefully – used humorously :

I’m having a bit of a bad hair day .

6 keep your hair on British English spoken used to tell someone to keep calm and not get annoyed :

All right, all right, keep your hair on! I’m sorry.

7 get in sb’s hair informal to annoy someone, especially by always being near them

8 make sb’s hair stand on end to make someone very frightened

9 make sb’s hair curl if a story, experience etc makes your hair curl, it is very surprising, frightening, or shocking :

tales that would make your hair curl

10 not have a hair out of place to have a very neat appearance

11 not turn a hair to remain completely calm when something bad or surprising suddenly happens

12 not harm/touch a hair of/on sb’s head to not harm someone in any way

13 the hair of the dog (that bit you) alcohol that you drink to cure a headache caused by drinking too much alcohol the night before – used humorously

→ have a good/fine/thick etc head of hair at head 1 ( 14 ) , → not see hide nor hair of at hide 2 ( 5 ) , → split hairs at split 1 ( 8 )

COLLOCATIONS

colour

dark He’s about six feet tall, with dark hair and blue eyes.

black his long black hair

jet black literary (= completely black ) She had shiny jet black hair, and skin as white as snow.

fair Her long fair hair fell untidily over her shoulders.

blond/blonde (= yellowish-white in colour ) long blonde hair and blue eyes

golden the beautiful girl with the long golden hair

brown Her hair was pale brown.

chestnut literary (= dark brown ) She had a fine head of chestnut hair.

sandy (= yellowish-brown ) He wore his long, sandy brown hair in a ponytail.

mousy (= an unattractive dull brown ) I have pale, mousy hair that is dull and lacks shine.

red The whole family had red hair.

ginger British English (= orange-brown in colour ) a cheeky little boy with ginger hair

auburn literary (= orange-brown in colour ) He gazed at her long neck and beautiful auburn hair.

white an old man with white hair

grey British English , gray American English She was about 70, with grey hair.

silver Her father’s hair was starting to turn silver.

length

short I like your hair when it’s short like that.

long A few of the boys had long hair.

shoulder-length/medium-length He had shoulder-length reddish hair.

type

straight a girl with long straight hair

curly When he was young, his hair was thick and curly.

frizzy (= tightly curled ) She had dark frizzy hair which might have been permed.

wavy (= with loose curls ) Her golden wavy hair fell around her shoulders.

thick She had thick hair down to her waist.

fine (= thin ) Her hair is so fine, it’s difficult to style.

spiky (= stiff and standing up on top of your head ) Billy had black spiky hair.

condition

in good/bad/terrible etc condition How do you keep your hair in such perfect condition?

out of condition (= no longer in good condition ) If your hair is out of condition, this may be because you are eating the wrong foods.

glossy/shiny She combed her hair until it was all glossy.

lustrous literary (= very shiny and attractive ) her lustrous dark hair flowing on to her shoulders

dull (= not shiny ) a shampoo for dull hair

greasy (= containing too much oil ) This shampoo is ideal for greasy hair.

dry (= lacking oil ) a shampoo for dry hair

lank especially literary (= thin, straight, and unattractive ) a scruffy young man with lank hair

thinning (= becoming thinner because you are losing your hair ) His dark hair was thinning on top.

receding (= gradually disappearing, so that it is high on your forehead ) The man was in his late thirties, and his hair was receding slightly.

dishevelled especially literary (= very untidy ) His face was bright red and his hair looked dishevelled.

tousled especially literary (= a little untidy, in a way that looks attractive ) his youthfully handsome face and tousled hair that hung untidily over his collar

windswept especially literary (= blown around by the wind ) Her hair was all windswept when they came off the beach.

动词

have … hair She has beautiful blonde hair.

brush/comb your hair He cleaned his teeth and brushed his hair.

wash your hair He showered and washed his hair.

do your hair ( also fix your hair American English ) (= arrange it in a style ) She’s upstairs doing her hair.

have your hair cut/done/permed ( also get your hair cut etc ) (= by a hairdresser ) I need to get my hair cut.

cut sb’s hair My Mum always cuts my hair.

dye your hair (blonde/red etc) (= change its colour, especially using chemicals ) Craig has dyed his hair black.

wear your hair long/in a ponytail etc (= have that style of hair ) He wore his hair in a ponytail.

grow your hair (long) (= let it grow longer ) I’m growing my hair long, but it’s taking forever.

lose your hair (= become bald ) He was a small, round man who was losing his hair.

run your fingers through sb’s hair (= touch someone’s hair in a loving way ) He ran his fingers through her smooth silky hair.

ruffle sb’s hair (= rub it in a kind friendly way ) He patted me on the back and ruffled my hair.

hair + NOUN

hair loss The drug can cause hair loss.

hair colour British English , hair color American English Genes control characteristics such as hair colour and eye colour.

hair dye The survey showed that 75% of women have used hair dye.

短语

a strand/wisp of hair (= a thin piece of hair ) She brushed away a strand of hair from her eyes.

a lock of hair (= a fairly thick piece of hair ) She tossed a stray lock of hair back off her forehead.

a mop of hair (= a large amount of thick untidy hair ) He had an unruly mop of brown hair.

COMMON ERRORS

► Do not say ’ I cut my hair ’ if another person cut your hair for you. Say I had my hair cut ‘.