hair and hare are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. hair means “a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss”. hare means “swift timid long-eared mammal larger than a rabbit having a divided upper lip and long hind legs; young born furred and with open eyes”. hair is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈhɛɹ/
1.n.a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
“he combed his hair”
2.n.a very small distance or space
“they escaped by a hair's-breadth”
3.n.filamentous hairlike growth on a plant
“peach fuzz”
/ˈhɛɹ/
| hair | hare | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɛɹ/ | /ˈhɛɹ/ |
| Said | her | her |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 4 | 4 |
| Parts of speech | noun | noun, verb |
| Senses | 6 | 3 |
| How common | Core | Familiar |
| Synonyms | none recorded | none recorded |
Full entry for hair · Full entry for hare · More comparisons
1.n.swift timid long-eared mammal larger than a rabbit having a divided upper lip and long hind legs; young born furred and with open eyes
2.n.flesh of any of various rabbits or hares (wild or domesticated) eaten as food
3.v.run quickly, like a hare
“He hared down the hill”