hairy
/ˈhɛɹ.i/adjective, noun
hairy is spelled H-A-I-R-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, hairy means “Having a lot of body hair” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in hairy?
| Letters | 5: H-A-I-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.3 times per million words; the 9,594th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is hairy?
Hairy appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hairy?
- UK /ˈhɛə.ɹi/
- US /ˈhɛɹ.i/
- Australia /ˈheːɹi/
Hairy has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-hairy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with hairy
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with hairy?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hairy from its last stressed vowel (/ɛɹi/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of hairy
- hairier comparative
- hairiest superlative
- hairies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hairy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a lot of body hair.
a hairy man
- 2
Having a lot of fur.
Near-synonyms: long-haired, furry, fluffy
- 3
Having hair growing from it.
hairy chest; hairy back
- 4
Long-haired.
yelling about dirty, hairy hippies
- 5
Seeming as if hair-covered or as if consisting of hair.
Near-synonym: hairlike
- 6
informalDifficult, complex, intricate, or intimidating.
It’s a hairy problem, and will probably take several weeks to sort out.
- 7
informalCausing anxiety or fright; terrifying, scary.
noun
- 1
AustraliarareslangA haircut (the act of cutting of hair).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hairy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | poilu |
| German | behaart, haarig , pelzartig |
| Portuguese | peludo |
| Spanish | peludo, velludo, peloso, velloso, vellido, lanuginoso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hairy come from?
From Middle English hery, heeri, hary, equivalent to hair + -y. Compare Saterland Frisian hierich (“hairy”), West Frisian hierrich (“hairy”), Dutch harig (“hairy”), German Low German harig (“hairy”), German haarig (“hairy”), Swedish hårig (“hairy”), Icelandic hárugur (“hairy”). Compare also Old English hǣriht (“hairy”) and ġehǣre (“hairy”). The sense "terrifying, scary" possibly results from a blend of hair-raising and scary.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).