What does hairbrush mean?
A hairbrush is a handheld grooming tool with bristles, used to smooth, arrange, and detangle hair. It is especially associated with personal grooming at home, although stylists and salon workers also use brushes of various sizes and shapes for professional styling. Unlike a comb, which separates hair with interlocking teeth, a hairbrush typically sweeps and smooths the hair with rows of bristles. The word is most often used for a brush intended for grooming a person's hair, while broader terms such as “brush” can refer to many other cleaning or painting tools. “Hairbrush” is a transparent compound: “hair” identifies what is being brushed, and “brush” identifies the implement. Its standard plural is “hairbrushes,” and the related activity can be called “hairbrushing.” The term is useful because it identifies a familiar object precisely without the need for further explanation.
nounA handheld brush with bristles, used for grooming, smoothing, or detangling hair.
- A handheld, bristled implement used to groom, smooth, arrange, or detangle hair.
"She ran a hairbrush through her hair before leaving the house."
"He picked up the hairbrush and smoothed the child's hair."
"The salon stylist used a hairbrush to shape the model's hair into soft waves."
The standard plural adds “-es” to the complete compound.
"She packed two hairbrushes for the trip."
Hairbrush joins two transparent parts: the material being brushed and the tool that does the brushing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hairbrush come from?
Hairbrush is an English compound formed from the words “hair” and “brush.” The word “brush” entered Middle English through Old French brush or brosse and is conventionally traced to Late Latin brusa, although the ultimate origin of that Latin word is disputed. The compound combines the material being groomed with the type of tool used to groom it.
Related word forms
How hairbrush is actually used
This is a neutral, everyday term in both British and American English, with no strongly marked regional distinction.
Easily confused with hairbrush
A hair comb has interlocking teeth rather than bristles and is primarily used to detangle or part the hair.
A toothbrush is designed to clean teeth, whereas a hairbrush is designed to groom hair.