- the hairs on the back of the neck and the back of a dog, cat, etc, which rise when the animal is angry or afraid
- anger or resentment (esp in the phrases get one's hackles up, make one's hackles rise)
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
hackles /ˈhækəlz/ pl n
hack•le1 /ˈhækəl/USA pronunciation
n., v., -led, -ling.
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026n. [countable]
- Birdsthe neck feathers of a male bird, as the domestic rooster.
- hackles, [plural]
- Zoologyhairs on the back of an animal's neck that can be made to stand up straight.
- raise one's hackles, to arouse one's anger.
hack•le1
(hak′əl),USA pronunciation n., v., -led, -ling.
n.
v.t.
hack′ler, n.
hack•le2 (hak′əl),USA pronunciation v.t., -led, -ling.
n.
- one of the long, slender feathers on the neck or saddle of certain birds, as the domestic rooster, much used in making artificial flies for anglers.
- the neck plumage of a male bird, as the domestic rooster.
- hackles:
- Zoologythe erectile hair on the back of an animal's neck:At the sound of footsteps, the dog raised her hackles.
- anger, esp. when aroused in a challenging or challenged manner:with one's hackles up.
- [Angling.]
- the legs of an artificial fly made with feathers from the neck or saddle of a rooster or other such bird. See diag. under fly 2.
- See hackle fly.
- a comb for dressing flax or hemp.
- Idioms raise one's hackles, to arouse one's anger:Such officiousness always raises my hackles.
v.t.
- [Angling.]to equip with a hackle.
- to comb, as flax or hemp.
- 1400–50; late Middle English hakell; see heckle
hack•le2 (hak′əl),USA pronunciation v.t., -led, -ling.
- to cut roughly;
hack;
mangle.
- 1570–80; hack1 + -le; cognate with Middle Dutch hakkelen
'hackles' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):