Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small mass of hair in the stomach or intestine of an animal, such as a cat, that is accumulated when the animal swallows hair while licking its coat.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A small pellet or a large concretion, composed chiefly of hair, found in the stomachs of animals which have the habit of licking themselves or other animals. See bezoar and heterolith.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun a compact mass of hair that forms in the stomach of animals as a result of licking fur.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun 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.
  • noun slang, figuratively A messy, tangled, intractable, stay-away-from-it issue.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a compact mass of hair that forms in the alimentary canal (especially in the stomach of animals as a result of licking fur)
  • noun a compact mass of hair that forms in the alimentary canal (especially in the stomach of animals as a result of licking fur)

Etymologies

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Examples

  • I still think IPTV is a political hairball, which is going to cause a lot of problems in the near term.

    Bells Setback in Texas IPTV Battle 2005

  • Hair clumped together might be called a hairball to some, but it's art to others.

    Museum Blogs 2010

  • Nope, those felted pins look like some kind of hairball/eggsacks from god-knows-what kind of insect/alien.

    Regretsy – Kitty Glitter 2010

  • Sure, this "hairball" IT system I'm supposed to be in charge of is all someone else's fault, but that "chargeback" system, well accounting is in charge of that aren't they!

    freshnews.org - most clicked links 2010

  • After the vet inspected the 'hairball' he told me that it looked like a combination of stage makeup, Rogaine and Friskies Chicken Liver Dinner.

    Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch 2009

  • The smallest of the dogs looked more like a "hairball" than a dog when first removed from the house.

    Sand Mountain Reporter: News 2009

  • The smallest of the dogs looked more like a "hairball" than a dog when first removed from the house.

    Sand Mountain Reporter: News 2009

  • The smallest of the dogs looked more like a "hairball" than a dog when first removed from the house.

    Sand Mountain Reporter: News 2009

  • The smallest of the dogs looked more like a "hairball" than a dog when first removed from the house.

    Sand Mountain Reporter: News 2009

  • The smallest of the dogs looked more like a "hairball" than a dog when first removed from the house.

    Sand Mountain Reporter: News 2009

Comments

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  • a clump of mess that my cat leaves around the house for my naked foot to find

    June 27, 2007

  • Eeeeeeeewwwww!

    June 27, 2007

  • In deep sleep hear sound

    cat vomit hairball somewhere

    will find in morning

    - Anon, Cat Haiku.

    August 12, 2008