by a hair

ADVERB

hardly

Synonyms

STRONGEST

barely comparatively practically rarely seldom simply somewhat

STRONG

just

WEAK

almost inconceivably almost not by no means detectably faintly gradually imperceptibly infrequently little no more than no way not a bit not at all not by much not likely not markedly not measurably not much not notably not noticeably not often not quite once in a blue moon only only just perceptibly pretty near scantly slightly sparsely sporadically with trouble

Antonyms

STRONGEST

frequently

WEAK

very

ADVERB

narrowly

Synonyms

STRONGEST

barely carefully

WEAK

almost by a whisker by narrow margin close nearly only just painstakingly scarcely scrutinizingly

Antonyms

WEAK

carelessly imprecisely

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Although revenue grew 2.5% to $2.56 billion, the number missed analysts’ calls for $2.57 billion by a hair.

From Barron's • Feb. 17, 2026

As of Wednesday, the measure was winning by a hair.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2024

Boebert won against Democrat Adam Frisch by a hair in 2022, earning just 546 more votes of the over 327,000 cast, according to The Daily Beast.

From Salon • Dec. 29, 2023

Mr. Florio ran again in 1981, winning the Democratic nomination but losing the general election to Mr. Kean, a moderate Republican, by a hair — fewer than 2,000 votes out of 2.3 million cast.

From New York Times • Sep. 26, 2022

She’d missed the third reader by a hair and blamed Tansy.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

by a hair

Example Sentences

Related Words