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
: 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
Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2024
Inside the chambers that were pillaged, dubbed M1 and M2, excavators found many grave goods left amidst each pair of coffins: glazed pottery, lacquered wood, copper objects, iron swords, boxes, mirror brushes and bamboo hairpins.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for hairpin 
Noun
Advertisement The twisting road that snakes through the Hollywood Hills is famous for its hairpin turns and sweeping views.
—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2024
Inside the chambers that were pillaged, dubbed M1 and M2, excavators found many grave goods left amidst each pair of coffins: glazed pottery, lacquered wood, copper objects, iron swords, boxes, mirror brushes and bamboo hairpins.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for hairpin
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hairpin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hairpin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hairpin. Accessed 6 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical 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
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