"hairball" meaning in English

See hairball in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: En-au-hairball.ogg [Australia] Forms: hairballs [plural]
Etymology: hair + ball Etymology templates: {{compound|en|hair|ball}} hair + ball Head templates: {{en-noun}} hairball (plural hairballs)
  1. A small wad of fur or mass of hair formed in the digestive system of a cat or other animal, from hair ingested while grooming. Categories (topical): Hair Translations (wad of fur): bola de pèl [feminine] (Catalan), 毛團 (Chinese Mandarin), 毛团 (máotuán) (Chinese Mandarin), haarbal [masculine] (Dutch), bezoaro (Esperanto), karvakerä (Finnish), égagropile [masculine] (French), Fellknäuel [neuter] (German), Haarballen [masculine] (German), köpet (Hungarian), borra [feminine] (Italian), 毛玉 (Japanese), hårball (Norwegian), zakłaczenie [feminine] (Polish), kłak [masculine] (Polish), pricobezoar [masculine] (Portuguese), bola de pelo [feminine] (Portuguese), bezoar [masculine] (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-hairball-en-noun-1DP3s6zV Disambiguation of Hair: 79 21 Categories (other): English endocentric compounds, English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English entries with topic categories using raw markup Disambiguation of English endocentric compounds: 55 45 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 80 20 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 73 27 Disambiguation of English entries with topic categories using raw markup: 78 22 Disambiguation of 'wad of fur': 97 3
  2. (slang, figuratively) A messy, tangled, intractable issue. Tags: figuratively, slang Translations (intractable issue): kaĉo (Esperanto), peludo [masculine] (Spanish), tema peludo [masculine] (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-hairball-en-noun-gsYSe9UD Categories (other): English endocentric compounds Disambiguation of English endocentric compounds: 55 45 Disambiguation of 'intractable issue': 4 96
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: bezoar

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for hairball meaning in English (5.0kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hair",
        "3": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "hair + ball",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "hair + ball",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "hairballs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "hairball (plural hairballs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "55 45",
          "kind": "other",
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          "_dis": "80 20",
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          "_dis": "73 27",
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          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [
            "Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "79 21",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Hair",
          "orig": "en:Hair",
          "parents": [
            "Body parts",
            "Body",
            "Anatomy",
            "Human",
            "Biology",
            "Medicine",
            "All topics",
            "Sciences",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small wad of fur or mass of hair formed in the digestive system of a cat or other animal, from hair ingested while grooming."
      ],
      "id": "en-hairball-en-noun-1DP3s6zV",
      "links": [
        [
          "wad",
          "wad"
        ],
        [
          "fur",
          "fur"
        ],
        [
          "mass",
          "mass"
        ],
        [
          "hair",
          "hair"
        ],
        [
          "digestive system",
          "digestive system"
        ],
        [
          "cat",
          "cat"
        ],
        [
          "animal",
          "animal"
        ],
        [
          "ingest",
          "ingest"
        ],
        [
          "groom",
          "groom"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bola de pèl"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "word": "毛團"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "máotuán",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "word": "毛团"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "haarbal"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "word": "bezoaro"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "word": "karvakerä"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "égagropile"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Fellknäuel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Haarballen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "word": "köpet"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "borra"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "word": "毛玉"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "no",
          "lang": "Norwegian",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "word": "hårball"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "zakłaczenie"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "kłak"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "pricobezoar"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bola de pelo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "wad of fur",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "bezoar"
        }
      ]
    },
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      "categories": [
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          "_dis": "55 45",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [
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            "Compound terms",
            "Terms by etymology"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The contract negotiations are turning into a real hairball.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A messy, tangled, intractable issue."
      ],
      "id": "en-hairball-en-noun-gsYSe9UD",
      "links": [
        [
          "messy",
          "messy"
        ],
        [
          "tangled",
          "tangled"
        ],
        [
          "intractable",
          "intractable"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, figuratively) A messy, tangled, intractable issue."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "slang"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "intractable issue",
          "word": "kaĉo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "intractable issue",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "peludo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "intractable issue",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "tema peludo"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-hairball.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4f/En-au-hairball.ogg/En-au-hairball.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/En-au-hairball.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "bezoar"
    }
  ],
  "word": "hairball"
}
{
  "categories": [
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    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English endocentric compounds",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "en:Hair"
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  ],
  "etymology_text": "hair + ball",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "hairballs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
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      "expansion": "hairball (plural hairballs)",
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  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A small wad of fur or mass of hair formed in the digestive system of a cat or other animal, from hair ingested while grooming."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "wad",
          "wad"
        ],
        [
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          "fur"
        ],
        [
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          "mass"
        ],
        [
          "hair",
          "hair"
        ],
        [
          "digestive system",
          "digestive system"
        ],
        [
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        ],
        [
          "animal",
          "animal"
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        [
          "ingest",
          "ingest"
        ],
        [
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          "groom"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
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        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The contract negotiations are turning into a real hairball.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A messy, tangled, intractable issue."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "messy",
          "messy"
        ],
        [
          "tangled",
          "tangled"
        ],
        [
          "intractable",
          "intractable"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, figuratively) A messy, tangled, intractable issue."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
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      "audio": "En-au-hairball.ogg",
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      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/En-au-hairball.ogg",
      "tags": [
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      ],
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    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "bezoar"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bola de pèl"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "word": "毛團"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "máotuán",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "word": "毛团"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "haarbal"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "word": "bezoaro"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "word": "karvakerä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "égagropile"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Fellknäuel"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Haarballen"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "word": "köpet"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "borra"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "word": "毛玉"
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "word": "hårball"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "zakłaczenie"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "kłak"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "pricobezoar"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bola de pelo"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "wad of fur",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "bezoar"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "intractable issue",
      "word": "kaĉo"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "intractable issue",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "peludo"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "intractable issue",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "tema peludo"
    }
  ],
  "word": "hairball"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-30 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (210104c and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.