whisker

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   one of the long, stiff hairs growing near the mouth of some animals, such as cats or mice, used for sensing

   The cat's whiskers twitched as it sensed movement in the room.

2. 2
   noun

   a very small distance or amount

   He won the race by a whisker.

Related to Latin vibrissa (stiff facial hair) and to Middle English wisker (a bundle of twigs, a brush, something that whisks); modern English whisker denotes the stiff facial hairs of animals.

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