whisker

noun8

1. •
   A hair of the beard.
2. •
   One of the long, projecting hairs growing at the sides of the mouth of a cat, or other animal.
3. •
   (informal) The (very small) distance between two things.

   • It missed falling on your foot by a whisker.
4. •
   That part of the beard which grows upon the sides of the face, usually of the male, or upon the chin, or upon both.
5. •
   A graphic element that shows the maxima and minima in a box plot.
6. •
   A small tendril that forms on metal.
7. •
   Spreaders from the bows to spread the bowsprit shrouds.
8. •
   One who, or that which, whisks, or moves with a quick, sweeping motion.