whisker
whisk|er /hw'ɪskər/ (whiskers)
1 [N-COUNT] usu pl
The whiskers of an animal such as a cat or a mouse are the long stiff hairs that grow near its mouth.
2 [N-PLURAL]
You can refer to the hair on a man's face, especially on the sides of his face, as his whiskers.
...wild, savage-looking fellows, with large whiskers, unshaven beards, and dirty faces.
3 [N-SING]
You can use whisker in expressions such as by a whisker or within a whisker of to indicate that something happened or is true, but only by a very small amount or degree.
A new pet census showed that cats now outnumber dogs by a whisker (7 million to 6.9 million)...
She came within a whisker of taking a gold medal...
Unemployment is now a whisker away from three million.
1 [N-COUNT] usu pl
The whiskers of an animal such as a cat or a mouse are the long stiff hairs that grow near its mouth.
2 [N-PLURAL]
You can refer to the hair on a man's face, especially on the sides of his face, as his whiskers.
...wild, savage-looking fellows, with large whiskers, unshaven beards, and dirty faces.
3 [N-SING]
You can use whisker in expressions such as by a whisker or within a whisker of to indicate that something happened or is true, but only by a very small amount or degree.
A new pet census showed that cats now outnumber dogs by a whisker (7 million to 6.9 million)...
She came within a whisker of taking a gold medal...
Unemployment is now a whisker away from three million.