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
Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 20 Dec. 2025
The Chicago singer and producer’s hairpin-turning odyssey through hip-hop, jazz, and experimental music elevates her artistry with each crushing revelation.
—Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2025
David Sims, The Atlantic, 25 Dec. 2025
Get ready for hairpin turns, switchbacks, and steep climbs; the road starts in the south in Bascov, runs through the Făgăraș Mountains, and ends in the north in Cârțișoara.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 20 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hairpin
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Noun
Get ready for hairpin turns, switchbacks, and steep climbs; the road starts in the south in Bascov, runs through the Făgăraș Mountains, and ends in the north in Cârțișoara.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 20 Dec. 2025
The Chicago singer and producer’s hairpin-turning odyssey through hip-hop, jazz, and experimental music elevates her artistry with each crushing revelation.
—Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2025
Adjective
Marty is vivacious, and the film around him is buzzing at the same frequency: itchy, anxious, yet unbearably exciting throughout, each minute defined by some hairpin plot turn.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 25 Dec. 2025
Get ready for hairpin turns, switchbacks, and steep climbs; the road starts in the south in Bascov, runs through the Făgăraș Mountains, and ends in the north in Cârțișoara.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 20 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hairpin
Cite this Entry
“Hairpin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hairpin. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
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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