What does "crisp" mean?
Senses relating to something brittle.; In full potato crisp: a thin slice of potato which has been deep-fried until it is brittle and crispy, and eaten when cool; they are typically packaged and sold as a snack.
Crisp
/kɹɪsp/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Senses relating to something brittle.; In full potato crisp: a thin slice of potato which has been deep-fried until it is brittle and crispy, and eaten when cool; they are typically packaged and sold as a snack.
- Grammar: crisp is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: snappy, terse, abbreviated, abridged.
- Useful contrasts: unsharp, bleary, blowziest.
- Usage evidence: You have a very crisp way of speaking.
How to use "crisp"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "crisp" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "crisp" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "crisp" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "crisp" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 Senses relating to something brittle.; In full potato crisp: a thin slice of potato which has been deep-fried until it is brittle and crispy, and eaten when cool; they are typically packaged and sold as a snack. Ireland, UK, in-plural
"Edward, give me another of those delicious olives. / What's that? Potato crisps? No, I can't endure them."
- 2 a thin crisp slice of potato fried in deep fat wordnet
- 3 Senses relating to something brittle.; In full potato crisp: a thin slice of potato which has been deep-fried until it is brittle and crispy, and eaten when cool; they are typically packaged and sold as a snack.; Sometimes with a descriptive word: a crispy, savoury snack made of some other ingredient(s) (such as cornmeal or a vegetable) which is baked or deep-fried and eaten like a potato crisp. Ireland, UK, broadly, in-plural
"kale crisps prawn crisp"
- 4 Senses relating to something brittle.; A type of baked dessert consisting of fruit topped with a crumbly mixture made with fat, flour, and sugar; a crumble. Canada, US
- 5 Senses relating to something brittle.; A banknote; also, a number of banknotes collectively. dated, slang
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- 6 Senses relating to something brittle.; Chiefly in to a crisp: a food item that has been overcooked, or a thing which has been burned, to the point of becoming charred or dried out. also, figuratively
"He bears my name—Glendinning. I will disown it; were it like this dress, I would tear my name off from me, and burn it till it shriveled to a crisp!"
- 7 Senses relating to something brittle.; The crispy rind of roast pork; crackling. dialectal
"Alon[zo]. Anon they’l cut off ſlivers from us, as they did from the vvhole Ox, in St. James’s Fair. / Gonz[alo]. Oh, ’tis intollerable: methinks I hear a great ſhe Devil, call for [a] Groats vvorth of the Criſpe of my Countenance.—They are all for Griſtle."
- 8 Senses relating to something curled.; A curly lock of hair, especially one which is tightly curled. obsolete
"They are proud, and vveare their hayre pretty long, and about their criſpes vvreath a valuable Shaſh or Tulipant; […]"
- 9 Senses relating to something curled.; A delicate fabric, possibly resembling crepe, especially used by women for veils or other head coverings in the past; also, a head covering made of this fabric. obsolete
"Vpon her head a ſiluer criſp ſhe pind, / Looſe vvauing on her ſhoulders vvith the vvind."
Verb
- 1 Senses relating to brittleness.; To make (something) firm yet brittle; specifically (cooking), to give (food) a crispy surface through frying, grilling, or roasting. transitive
"to crisp bacon by frying it"
- 2 make brown and crisp by heating wordnet
- 3 Senses relating to brittleness.; To add small amounts of colour to (something); to tinge, to tint. dated, figuratively, transitive
"It was the form of a man of middle age, the hair white, but the beard only crisped with grey,"
- 4 make wrinkles or creases on a smooth surface; make a pressed, folded or wrinkled line in; ‘crisp’ is archaic wordnet
- 5 Senses relating to brittleness.; To become firm yet brittle; specifically (cooking), of food: to form a crispy surface through frying, grilling, or roasting. intransitive
"to put celery into ice water to crisp"
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- 6 Senses relating to brittleness.; To make a sharp crackling or crunching sound. dated, intransitive
"[…] everything had become so still that the crisping of the snow under foot might be heard nearly half a verst round."
- 7 Senses relating to curliness.; To curl (something, such as fabric) into tight, stiff folds or waves; to crimp, to crinkle; specifically, to form (hair) into tight curls or ringlets. dated, transitive
"[…] those crisped snaky golden locks / Which make such wanton gambols with the wind,"
- 8 Senses relating to curliness.; To cause (a body of water) to undulate irregularly; to ripple. dated, figuratively, transitive
"[…] the crisped Brooks, / Rowling on Orient Pearl and sands of Gold"
- 9 Senses relating to curliness.; To twist or wrinkle (a body part). dated, figuratively, transitive
"[…] he consider’d what an infinity of Muscles these laughing Rascals threw into a convulsive motion at the same time; whether we regard the spasms of the Diaphragm and all the muscles of respiration, the horrible rictus of the mouth, the distortion of the lower jaw, the crisping of the nose, twinkling of the eyes, or sphaerical convexity of the cheeks, with the tremulous succussion of the whole human body:"
- 10 Senses relating to curliness.; To fold (newly woven cloth). UK, dated, dialectal, transitive
- 11 Senses relating to curliness.; To become curled into tight, stiff folds or waves. dated, intransitive
"The Sauoie Lettuce hath very large leaues ſpread vpon the grounde, at the firſt comming vp broade, cut, or gaſht about the edges, criſping or curling lightly this or that way, not vnlike to the leaues of garden Endiue, […]"
- 12 Senses relating to curliness.; Of a body of water: to ripple, to undulate. dated, figuratively, intransitive
"1630, Henry Hawkins (translator), Certaine selected epistles of S. Hierome, Saint-Omer: The English College Press, “The Epitaphe of S. Paula,” p. 96, Hitherto we haue sayled with a fore-wind, & our sliding ship hath plowed vp the crisping waues of the Sea at ease."
- 13 Senses relating to curliness.; Of a body part: to become twisted or wrinkled. dated, figuratively, intransitive
"[…] she gave no sign of the wave of repugnance that swept over her except that her fingers suddenly crisped."
Adjective
- 1 Senses relating to curliness.; Of hair: curling, especially in tight, stiff curls or ringlets; also (obsolete), of a person: having hair curled in this manner. dated
"crisp hair"
- 2 Senses relating to curliness.; Of a body of water, skin, etc.: having a surface which is rippled or wrinkled. archaic, obsolete
"[T]hree times did they drinke / Vpon agreement of ſvvift Seuerns floud, / VVho then affrighted vvith their bloudie lookes, / Ran fearefully among the trembling reedes, / And hid his criſpe-head in the hollovv banke, / Bloud-ſtained vvith theſe valiant combatants, […]"
- 3 Senses relating to curliness.; Synonym of crispate (“of a leaf: having curled, notched, or wavy edges”); crisped. archaic
"Feathered VVater Moſs. Branched. Leaves criſp, feathered, undulated, pointing tvvo vvays."
- 4 Senses relating to curliness.; Clear; also, shining, or smooth. obsolete
"One whyle hée at my necke dooth ſnatch / Another whyle my cléere criſp legges be ſtriueth for too catch, / Or trippes at mée: and euerywhere the vauntage he dooth watch."
- 5 Senses relating to brittleness.; Having a consistency which is hard yet brittle, and in a condition to break with a sharp fracture; crumbly, friable, short.
"The crisp snow crunched underfoot."
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- 6 Senses relating to brittleness.; Not limp; firm, stiff; not stale or wilted; fresh; also, effervescent, lively. figuratively
"And this piece of laurel is from Vaucluse! […] What an exquisite dry old, vital, young-looking, everlasting twig it is! It has been plucked nine months, and looks as hale and as crisp as if it would last ninety years."
- 7 Senses relating to brittleness.; Of action, movement, a person's manner, etc.: precise and quick; brisk. figuratively
"An expert, given a certain query, will often come up with a crisp answer: “yes” or “no”."
- 8 Senses relating to brittleness.; Of air, weather, etc.: cool and dry; also, of a period of time: characterized by such weather. figuratively
"All these boys were in great spirits, and shouted to each other, until the broad fields were so full of merry music, that the crisp air laughed to hear it!"
- 9 Senses relating to brittleness.; Of fabric, paper, etc.: clean and uncreased. figuratively
"He sat in a small room with benches where Santino had placed him, handed him the crisp, freshly withdrawn fifty-dollar bills, while Santino set about getting a bail bondsman."
- 10 Senses relating to brittleness.; Of something heard or seen: clearly defined; clean, neat, sharp. figuratively
"This new television set has a very crisp image."
- 11 Senses relating to brittleness.; Not using fuzzy logic; based on a binary distinction between true and false. figuratively
- 12 Senses relating to brittleness.; Of wine: having a refreshing amount of acidity; having less acidity than green wine, but more than a flabby one. figuratively
Adjective
- 1 brief and to the point; effectively cut short wordnet
- 2 (of something seen or heard) clearly defined wordnet
- 3 (of hair) in small tight curls wordnet
- 4 pleasingly firm and fresh wordnet
- 5 pleasantly cold and invigorating wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 tender and brittle wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Edgecombe County, North Carolina.
- 3 A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Ellis County, Texas, named after Charles F. Crisp.
- 4 A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Pleasants County, West Virginia, possibly a ghost town now.
Example
"You have a very crisp way of speaking."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "crisp"?
Common synonyms include: snappy, terse, abbreviated, abridged, abrupt, algid.
How do you use "crisp" in a sentence?
You have a very crisp way of speaking.
How do you pronounce "crisp"?
Pronounced /kɹɪsp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The adjective is derived partly from the following: * Etymology 1 sense 1: Middle English crisp (“curly, wavy”), from Old English crisp (“curly”), from Latin crispus (“of hair: crimped, curly”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kris-, from *(s)ker- (“to bend; to turn”). * Etymology 1 sense 2: from the above, and probably also onomatopoeic, representing a crinkling or crunching sound. Doublet of crape and crepe. Adjective etymology 1 sense 2.2.3 (“of air, weather, etc.: cool and dry”) is transferred from a description of frost or snow as “crisp”, that is, crunchy. The noun is derived partly from the following: * Middle English crisp (“light, crinkled fabric; kind of pastry; crinkliness or roughness of skin”), from crisp (adjective) (see above). * Modern English crisp (adjective) (“having a consistency which is hard yet brittle”).
Etymology 2
Partly from the following: * Etymology 2 sense 1: crisp (adjective; see etymology 1). * Etymology 2 sense 2: Late Middle English crispen (“to curl; of hair: to be curly”), from Old English cirpsian (“to curl, crisp”), from Latin crīspō (“to crimp; to curl”), from crispus (“of hair: crimped, curly”, adjective) (see etymology 1) + -ō (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs).