hair trigger
1 Americannoun
adjective
noun
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a trigger of a firearm that responds to very slight pressure
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informal
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any mechanism, reaction, etc, set in operation by slight provocation
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( as modifier )
a hair-trigger temper
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Etymology
Origin of hair trigger1
First recorded in 1815–25
Origin of hair-trigger2
First recorded in 1885–90
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sentiment around the sector remains on a hair trigger, and it won’t take much to knock it back down, like a fictional Substack post on Monday that sent the software ETF down 4.8%.
From Barron's
Investors appear to have been on hair trigger.
From Barron's
“These things were a little bit on a hair trigger,” Green said.
Rear buttons aside, the Scuf’s other big feature is its hair triggers, which have the quickest response of all the controllers tested here.
From The Verge
He’s in a stage in his career when he’s on a hair trigger to tuck the ball and run.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
