bristle
To rise or stand erect, like bristlesTo rise or stand erect, like bristles.
Recorded UK: Speaker: Vealhurl Recorder: Vealhurl, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons · Recorded US: Speaker: Wodencafe Recorder: Wodencafe, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
» The dog's hair bristled when it saw the lion.
Шерсть на собаці стала дибки, коли він побачив лева. — aandrusiak
shekitten · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
6 senses(intransitive)To rise or stand erect, like bristles.
His hair began to bristle with anger when the subject was mentioned.
The cat’s fur bristled when the dog approached.
sträuben
щети́нитьсяščetínitʹsja, ощети́ниватьсяoščetínivatʹsja, ощети́нитьсяoščetínitʹsja
rise up as in fear
(intransitive, usually)To abound, to be covered with, or to have an abundance of, something, especially something jutting out.
have or be thickly covered with or as if with bristles
(intransitive, usually)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.
sträuben
(transitive, uncommon)To cause (someone) to be on one's guard or raise one's defenses.
Your blatant attitude always bristles me.
(rare)To fix a bristle or bristles to.
to bristle a thread
For quotations using this term, see Citations:bristle.
(archaic, obsolete, transitive)To make (something) rise or stand erect, like bristles.
Examples
19 sentencesThe dog's hair bristled when it saw the lion.
Шерсть на собаці стала дибки, коли він побачив лева. — aandrusiak
The riverside bristles with factory chimneys.
deAm Flussufer ragt ein Wald von Fabrikschornsteinen empor. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
The dog's hair bristled up with anger.
ruСобака в злости ощерилась. — kobylkin
deDem Hund sträubte sich vor Wut das Fell. — Yorwba
He bristled at the sight of me.
Ziri noticed the broom was missing bristles.
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English bristil, bristel, brustel, from Old English bristl, byrst, *brystl, *bFrom Middle English bristil, bristel, brustel, from Old English bristl, byrst, *brystl, *byrstel, from Proto-West Germanic *burstilu, diminutive of Proto-West Germanic *bursti, from Proto-Germanic *burstiz (compare Dutch borstel, German Borste (“boar's bristle”), Icelandic burst), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰr̥stís (compare Middle Irish brostaid (“to goad, spur”), Latin fastīgium (“top”), Polish barszcz (“hogweed”)).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
bristles, bristling, bristled, bristledSynonyms
4 synonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.