Word.ws English Dictionary

hairsplits

hairsplits is the third-person singular simple present indicative of hairsplit.

hairsplits is the plural of hairsplit.

Meaning of hairsplit

Verb

hairsplit (third-person singular simple present hairsplits, present participle hairsplitting, simple past and past participle hairsplit)

  1. (transitive) To make fine distinctions concerning.
    • The real criticism of your article is not only your attitude of mind as expressed therein, but also in dealing with details and inclination to hairsplit minor matters1922, Sons of the Revolution in State of Virginia Quarterly Magazine, page 28
  2. (intransitive) To split hairs.
    • How vividly with the recital of these old customs memory reverts to the other quaint and fantastic forms New England piety took on — to the pastor who could hairsplit by the hour 'twixt Free Will and Election1884, Clarence Deming, By-ways of Nature and Life, page 225

See all 3 meanings of hairsplit

Questions about hairsplits

What is hairsplits the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Hairsplits is the third-person singular simple present indicative of hairsplit.

Words near hairsplits in the dictionary

  1. Hairsine
  2. hairslide
  3. hairslides
  4. hairsnake
  5. hairsplit
  6. hairsplits
  7. hairsplitter
  8. hairsplitters
  9. hairsplitting
  10. hairsplittings
  11. hairspray

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hairsplits (page history and authors); hairsplit (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “hairsplits.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hairsplits. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.