hairsbreadth
Almost no distance
A hairsbreadth is an extremely small distance or margin—the width of a single hair.
Almost always figurative: The bullet missed him by a hairsbreadth.
We came within a hairsbreadth of disaster.
As an adjective, it modifies narrow outcomes: a hairsbreadth escape.
Also spelled hair's breadth or hairbreadth.
Narrowly averted incident
- close callDisaster narrowly averted
- narrow escapeBarely avoiding disaster
- brushBristled cleaning tool
- shaveCut hair close
evasion · survival · rescue · cliffhanger · scare · crisis · close shave · scrape
Stiff facial bristle
- sliverThin split-off piece
- threadFiber for stitching
- fractionPart divided by whole
- inchTwelfth of a foot
narrow · slim · thin · gap · edge · crack · shaving · narrowness
Critical boundary point
- vergeBorder or cusp
- cuspPoint of transition
- edgeBoundary or sharpness
- borderlineEdge of acceptability
precipice · boundary · tipping point · fine line · demarcation · dividing line
Degree of correctness
- exactitudePerfect correctness in detail
- exactnessCorrectness in every detail
- meticulousnessExtreme carefulness in details
- finenessPurity or thinness measure
nicety · calibration · tolerance · minuteness · fine-tuning · micrometer · measurement · specification
near miss
Narrowly averted incident
- close callDisaster narrowly averted
- narrow escapeBarely avoiding disaster
- brushBristled cleaning tool
shave · evasion · survival · rescue · cliffhanger · scare · crisis · close shave · scrape · reprieve
whisker
Stiff facial bristle
inch · narrow · slim · thin · gap · edge · crack · shaving · narrowness · tenuous
brink
Critical boundary point
borderline · precipice · boundary · tipping point · fine line · demarcation · dividing line
accuracy
Degree of correctness
- exactitudePerfect correctness in detail
- exactnessCorrectness in every detail
- meticulousnessExtreme carefulness in details
fineness · nicety · calibration · tolerance · minuteness · fine-tuning · micrometer · measurement · specification · graduations