bristle

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbrɪs.əl/
• Rhymes: -ɪsəl

Noun

bristle (plural bristles)

1. A stiff or coarse hair.
2. The hair or straws that make up a brush, broom, or similar item.
3. (slang) A humorous misspelling of Bristol, in imitation of the local dialect in the English city of that name,
   • Krek Waiter, Peak Bristle.

     Correct Way to Speak Bristol.

Translations

A stiff or coarse hair

Bulgarian: четина (bg) (četina) f. Italian: pelo ispido (it), barba corta ispida (it) Dutch: stoppelhaar (nl) Portuguese: cerda (pt) f. Russian: щетина (ru) (ščetína) f.

Serbian: kostret f. Serbo-Croatian: čekinja (sh), kostr(ij)et (sh), četina (sh), osje (sh) Spanish: cerda (es) f.

The hair or straws that make up a brush, broom, or similar item

Dutch: borstelhaar (nl) Italian: setola (it) f., setole (it) pl. Portuguese: cerda (pt) f.

Russian: щетина (ru) (ščetína) f. Spanish: cerda (es) f.

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Danish: børste c.

Verb

bristle (third-person singular simple present bristles, present participle bristling, simple past and past participle bristled)

1. To be on one's guard or raise one's defenses; to react with fear, suspicion, or distance.

   The employees bristled at the prospect of working through the holidays.

Translations

to be on one's guard

Dutch: recht overeind staan (nl), stekelig reageren (nl)

Derived terms

• bristling

Anagrams

• blister
• riblets