HAIRPIN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does hairpin mean? 

• HAIRPIN (noun)
  The noun HAIRPIN has 1 sense:

1. a double pronged pin used to hold women's hair in place

  Familiarity information: HAIRPIN used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HAIRPIN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A double pronged pin used to hold women's hair in place

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("hairpin" is a kind of...):

pin (a small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hairpin"):

bobby pin; grip; hairgrip (a flat wire hairpin whose prongs press tightly together; used to hold bobbed hair in place)

bodkin (formerly a long hairpin; usually with an ornamental head)

 Context examples 

You examined the room, I presume, to see if the intruder had left any traces—any cigar-end or dropped glove or hairpin or other trifle?

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"And hairpins," added Laurie, throwing half a dozen into Jo's lap.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Self-complementary sequences at exon-intron junctions form a hairpin structure recognized by enzymes that splice exons together into a mature mRNA that is ready for translation in the cytoplasm.

(Intronic SNP, NCI Thesaurus)

Autologous tumor cells transfected with a plasmid expressing recombinant human granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) and bifunctional short hairpin RNA (bi-shRNA) against furin, with potential immunostimulatory and antineoplastic activities.

(bi-shRNA-Furin/GM-CSF-Expressing Autologous Tumor Cell Vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)

IRESs can fold into a stable secondary hairpin structure to be incompatible with efficient translation by ribosomal scanning.

(Internal Ribosome Entry Site, NCI Thesaurus)

Target protein binding involves contacts by the beta hairpin tips and the helical bundle surface facing the Ankyrin groove.

(Ankyrin Repeat, NCI Thesaurus)

Pulled by the Sun's gravity, the object made a hairpin turn under our solar system, passing under Earth's orbit on Oct. 14 at a distance of about 15 million miles (24 million kilometers).

(Small Asteroid or Comet 'Visits' from Beyond the Solar System, NASA)

Their most trivial action may mean volumes, or their most extraordinary conduct may depend upon a hairpin or a curling tongs.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The 3 RNA products produced by the lentilvirus are: a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeted to an exon of the HIV-1 genes tat/rev, designated as shI; a decoy for the HIV TAT reactive element, designated as TAR; a ribozyme targeting the host cells CCR5 chemokine receptor, designated as CCR5RZ.

(Lentivirus Vector rHIV7-shI-TAR-CCR5RZ-transduced Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells, NCI Thesaurus)

No one was in sight, the smooth road sloped invitingly before her, and finding the temptation irresistible, Jo darted away, soon leaving hat and comb behind her and scattering hairpins as she ran.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)