Hair or heir?
hair is a noun meaning “A pigmented filament of keratin which grows from a follicle on the skin of…”; heir is a noun meaning “Someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) hair is about 15 times as common as heir.
What is the difference between hair and heir?
| hair | heir | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | A pigmented filament of keratin which grows from a follicle on the skin of humans and other mammals The collection or mass of such growths growing from the skin of humans and animals, and forming a covering for any part or the whole body To remove the hair from | Someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another One who inherits, or has been designated to inherit, a hereditary title or office To inherit |
| Example | In the western world, women usually have long hair while men usually have short hair | My brother is the heir to our childhood house and yet has no interest in it |
| Forms | hairs | heirs |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɛə/ [ˈhɛə̯] [ˈhɛː] | /ˈɛə̯/ [ˈɛə̯] /ˈɜː/ |
| In writing | 120 times per million words | 7.8 times per million words |
Sources: hair and heir in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of hair and heir
hair
- 1
A pigmented filament of keratin which grows from a follicle on the skin of humans and other mammals
- 2
To remove the hair from
- 3
The collection or mass of such growths growing from the skin of humans and animals, and forming a covering for any part or the whole body
- 4
To grow hair (where there was a bald spot)
- 5
Specifically, the collection of hairs on the top and sides of the human head, growing from the scalp
In the western world, women usually have long hair while men usually have short hair
- 6
To cause to have or bear hair; to provide with hair
- 7
A slender outgrowth from the chitinous cuticle of insects, spiders, crustaceans, and other invertebrates. Such hairs are totally unlike those of vertebrates in structure, composition, and mode of…
- 8
To string the bow for a violin
heir
- 1
Someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another
My brother is the heir to our childhood house and yet has no interest in it
- 2
To inherit
[…] Leonard Houtz & John Myer to be executors to this my last will & testament & lastly my children shall heir equally, one as much as the other
- 3
One who inherits, or has been designated to inherit, a hereditary title or office
As the heir to the British throne, the Prince of Wales is a very public figure
- 4
A successor in a role, representing continuity with the predecessor
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, hair or heir?
hair appears 120 times per million words; heir 7.8 times per million words.
hair 120 times per million wordsheir 7.8 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).