Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word hackle. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word hackle, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say hackle in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word hackle you have here. The definition of the word hackle will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofhackle, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
(fishing) A feather used to make a fishing lure or a fishing lure incorporating a feather.
(usually now in the plural) By extension (because the hackles of a rooster are lifted when it is angry), the hair on the nape of the neck in dogs and other animals; also used figuratively for humans.
When the dog got angry, his hackles rose and he growled.
1976, Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, Kindle edition, OUP Oxford, published 2016, page 101:
Suppose it happened to be the case that the majority of individuals raised their hackles only when they were truly intending to go on for a very long time in the war of attrition. The obvious counterploy would evolve: individuals would give up immediately when an opponent raised his hackles.
A type of jagged crack extending inwards from the broken surface of a fractured material.
A plate with rows of pointed needles used to blend or straighten hair.
1949, Eric Philbrook Kelly, The Amazing Journey of David Ingram, page 11:
"COME ALONG YE GRASS-COMBERS, SHOW some hackle," David Ingram, striding ahead, turned back and called.
Usage notes
In everyday speech, primarily used in phrase to raise someone's hackles(“to make one angry”), as in “It raises my hackles when you take that condescending tone”.