whisker
pronunciation
How to pronounce whisker in British English:
UK [ˈwɪskə(r)]
How to pronounce whisker in American English:
US [ˈwɪskər]
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- Noun:
- a very small distance or space
- a long stiff hair growing from the snout or brow of most mammals as e.g. a cat
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- Verb:
- furnish with whiskers
Word Origin
- whisker (n.)
- "hair of a man's face" (usually plural), c. 1600, originally a playful formation, from Middle English wisker "anything that whisks or sweeps" (early 15c.), agent noun from whisk (v.). In reference to animal lip hair, recorded from 1670s. Related: Whiskered; whiskers.
Example
- 1. Study on preparation of calcium sulfate whisker from phosphogypsum .
- 2. She won by a whisker .
- 3. The hammock itself would weigh less than a single cat whisker .
- 4. The car came round the corner and missed me by a whisker .
- 5. The demand surge helped push gold prices to within a whisker of their all-time high yesterday .