adj
hairy
HEH-uh-ree
adj
1
Covered with a lot of hair or fur.
"His hairy arms were covered in tattoos."
"The hairy caterpillar inched along the branch."
2
Difficult, risky, or frightening.
"The drive down the icy mountain road got pretty hairy."
"Things turned hairy when the negotiations broke down."
How to Use Hairy
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishCovered in hair, or, informally, tense and risky.
When to use it
The "risky/tense" sense is informal and common in spoken English.
Common pairings
a hairy chest
get hairy
a hairy situation
Word Forms
hairier comparative, hairies plural, hairiest superlative
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His _____ arms were covered in tattoos.
Etymology
From "hair" plus "-y." The "scary or risky" sense likely grew out of the phrase "hair-raising," blended with an older informal use of "hairy" to mean tricky.