hairpin

1 of 2

noun

hair·​pin ˈher-ˌpin 

1

: a pin to hold the hair in place

specifically : a long U-shaped pin

2

: something shaped like a hairpin

specifically : a sharp U-shaped turn in a road

hairpin

2 of 2

adjective

: having the shape of a hairpin

a hairpin turn

also : having hairpin turns

a steep hairpin road

Examples of hairpin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The famous road known for its 11 hairpin turns is unlikely to reopen before mid-July 2025. —David Nikel, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024

No one who hurls their guts up the previous night would knowingly agree to ride in a 12-passenger van hugging the cliffside of this narrow two-lane road, navigating hairpin turns on switchbacks that drop more than 2,500 feet into Red Rock Country. —Erin Strout, Outside Online, 11 Nov. 2024

Adjective

In the darkness, drive slowly up the 10,000-foot volcano; fog often obscures cattle and native geese loitering in hairpin turns. —Shannon Wianecki, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2024

The seven seasons are up and down with some hairpin narrative turns and character deaths being more acceptable or successful than others. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1771, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1887, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

hairpin

noun

hair·​pin

-ˌpin

1

: a U-shaped pin to hold the hair in place

2

: something shaped like a hairpin

especially : an extremely sharp turn in a road

hairpin adjective

Medical Definition

hairpin

noun

hair·​pin ˈha(ə)r-ˌpin, ˈhe(ə)r- 

variants also hairpin loop

: a region in single-stranded RNA or DNA that is double-stranded due to pairing between purine and pyrimidine bases in adjacent sequences of the RNA or DNA that are complementary and inverted