hair follicle

noun

: the tubular epithelial sheath that surrounds the lower part of the hair shaft and encloses at the bottom a vascular papilla supplying the growing basal part of the hair with nourishment see hair illustration

Examples of hair follicle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The reason for this is because of the deleterious effects of particle pollution, which are tiny particles smaller than the size of a hair follicle that get suspended in the atmosphere when trees, houses and plastic burn. —Omer Awan, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025

On average, there are approximately 100,000 hair follicles on the human head. —Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 7 Jan. 2025

Laser hair removal: Removing hair follicles in affected areas may help decrease the occurrence of bumps and abscesses. —Lindsay Curtis, Health, 24 Dec. 2024

Per Cleveland Clinic, Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that attacks your body’s hair follicles, resulting in patchy hair loss. —Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 11 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

hair follicle

noun

: the tube-shaped sheath surrounding the lower part of a hair shaft

Medical Definition

hair follicle

noun

: the tubular epithelial sheath that surrounds the lower part of the hair shaft and encloses at the bottom a vascular papilla supplying the growing basal part of the hair with nourishment