hairbreadth
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.
I spoke of most disastrous chances, Of moving accidents by flood and field; Of hairbreadth ’scapes i’ th’ imminent deadly breach; Of being taken by the insolent foe And sold to slavery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
In a theater dependent on exaggerated storylines — hairbreadth escapes, implausible coincidences and either conclusively happy or disastrous endings — how can the momentousness of ordinary life be captured?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2023
We all finished, and within a hairbreadth of our goal times.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 28, 2022
In December 1960, the Electoral College confirmed Kennedy’s victory, giving him 303 votes to Nixon’s 219, with Kennedy taking a hairbreadth popular-vote margin over Nixon of slightly more than 100,000 votes.
From New York Times ● Oct. 29, 2016
He packed Us scanty traps, not understanding what had happened, but feeling that he had escaped calamity by a hairbreadth.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
