crinkle
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
crinkles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
crinkled,
past participle, past
-
crinkling
present participle
-
to wrinkle; crimple; ripple.
-
to make slight, sharp sounds; rustle.
-
to turn or wind in many little bends and twists.
noun
-
a wrinkle or ripple.
-
a crinkling sound.
-
a turn or twist.
verb
-
to form or cause to form wrinkles, twists, or folds
-
to make or cause to make a rustling noise
noun
-
a wrinkle, twist, or fold
-
a rustling noise
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
crinklesimple
-
crinklessimple
-
have crinkledperfect
-
has crinkledperfect
-
am crinklingprogressive
-
are crinklingprogressive
-
is crinklingprogressive
-
have been crinklingperfect progressive
-
has been crinklingperfect progressive
Past
-
crinkledsimple
-
had crinkledperfect
-
was crinklingprogressive
-
were crinklingprogressive
-
had been crinklingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of crinkle
1350–1400; Middle English crinklen; akin to Old English crincan to bend, yield, Dutch krinkelen to crinkle; see cringle, cringe, crank 1, -le
Explanation
When you ball up a piece of paper in your hand, you crinkle it — you make a smooth thing wrinkled. Use the verb crinkle to describe what happens when you ball up a freshly ironed shirt and shove it in a suitcase, or the way your favorite teacher scrunches her eyes when she smiles. You can also call the creases or wrinkles themselves crinkles. You might become so annoyed at the crinkles in your curtains that you take them down and iron them. Crinkle comes from the Old English crincan, "to bend or to yield."
Vocabulary lists containing crinkle
Amal Unbound
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Eleanor & Park
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Lions of Little Rock
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
O’Rourke has cropped hair, a graying goatee and expressive eyes that crinkle with his toothy smile.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2023
His voice is backed by light bass plucks, piano chords in the key of C and the crinkle of thousands of tiny plastic wrappers being peeled back.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2022
While your family and friends might be used to seeing the typical chocolate crinkle cookies on holiday spreads, this red velvet version brings a vibrant and festive color to the table.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 26, 2022
Macfarlane, a seasoned lead of a dozen-plus straight Hallmark holiday romances including “Sense, Sensibility and Snowmen” and “A Shoe Addict’s Christmas,” is skilled at a Labradoresque eyebrow crinkle that could make anyone swoon.
From New York Times ● Sep. 29, 2022
There’s a breeze messing up her hair, and the bright winter sun’s making her crinkle up her eyes, so you’re not sure if she’s smiling at our antics, or just grimacing in the light.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
The can itself has a sealed top and crinkles at the edges to make it clear the contents aren't to be drunk.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2025
His face crinkles into a smile: “I love work.”
From The Guardian ● Mar. 22, 2020
Its scattering of paint tubes evokes metallic crinkles despite Freilicher’s gauzy style, and the blue and green strokes she’s marked on the palette — are they “daubs,” or simply daubs?
From New York Times ● Nov. 14, 2018
“One of my first memories was watching the parlor maid iron The London Times so there were no crinkles in it before my father read it,” Anne Coates said in a 2016 interview.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2018
Her whole face crinkles up when she does.
From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Our critic raved that “Carol Bove is an illusionist. Under her spell, steel is transformed into supple leather, sagging vinyl, crinkled plastic.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
This filthy and fascinating film is peering in, nose crinkled and stomach churning, to see what bubbles up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2026
They’re crinkled to reflect the light, making the medals shine.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2024
Cut to a slow horror zoom into his face, eyebrows crinkled upward as if in a prayer for deliverance.
From New York Times ● Dec. 14, 2023
Steam crinkled her hair as she used a forked stick to drop in red-hot stones.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Tired and graying, crows’ feet crinkling around his eyes, Djokovic summoned the vintage stuff and gave himself a chance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
Its smile will be warm and welcoming, with just the right amount of pupil dilation and crinkling at the corner of the eyes.
From Salon ● Mar. 5, 2024
“Us being here, accredited, I feel like I am a part of this,” Guzmán said, eyes crinkling with a broad smile.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 12, 2023
Hands jostled around a large metal basin, plastic gloves crinkling as they massaged pounds of julienned radish, green onion and a spicy, fragrant paste of red pepper flakes, brined shrimp, ginger and garlic.
From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2023
Denise just goes back to work, crinkling her face up in embarrassment or maybe disgust.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
