crisp
Americanadjective
-
crisper,
comparative
-
crispest
superlative
-
(especially of food) hard but easily breakable; brittle.
crisp toast.
-
(especially of food) firm and fresh; not soft or wilted.
a crisp leaf of lettuce.
-
a crisp reply.
-
crisp repartee.
-
clean-cut, neat, and well-pressed; well-groomed.
-
invigorating; bracing.
crisp air.
-
crinkled, wrinkled, or rippled, as skin or water.
-
in small, stiff, or firm curls; curly.
verb (used with or without object)
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crisps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
crisped,
past participle, past
-
crisping
present participle
-
to make or become crisp.
-
to curl.
noun
-
Chiefly British. potato chip.
-
Cooking. a dessert of fruit, as apples or apricots, baked with a crunchy mixture, usually of breadcrumbs, chopped nutmeats, butter, and brown sugar.
adjective
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dry and brittle
-
fresh and firm
crisp lettuce
-
invigorating or bracing
a crisp breeze
-
clear; sharp
crisp reasoning
-
lively or stimulating
crisp conversation
-
clean and orderly; neat
a crisp appearance
-
concise and pithy; terse
a crisp reply
-
wrinkled or curly
crisp hair
verb
noun
-
a very thin slice of potato fried and eaten cold as a snack
-
something that is crisp
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
crispsimple
-
crispssimple
-
have crispedperfect
-
has crispedperfect
-
am crispingprogressive
-
are crispingprogressive
-
is crispingprogressive
-
have been crispingperfect progressive
-
has been crispingperfect progressive
Past
-
crispedsimple
-
had crispedperfect
-
was crispingprogressive
-
were crispingprogressive
-
had been crispingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of crisp
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English, from Latin crispus “curled”
Explanation
Something that's crisp is thin, dry, and breakable. Unless they're stale, most crackers are crisp. Gingersnaps are crisp, and so is toast — in fact, crisp often describes food, although crunchy snow and dry, brown leaves are also crisp. To crisp something is to cook or dry it until it's brittle, and when a voice is crisp, it's abrupt and no-nonsense. A crisp fall morning is fresh and cold. In Old English, crisp meant "curly," from the Latin crispus, "curled." The "brittle" definition is probably imitative, the word sounding like its meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing crisp
Wintry Words
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Chill Out! Synonyms for "Cold"
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"Stone Fox" by John Reynolds Gardiner
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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:
Top each generously with chèvre — crumbled if firm, dolloped if soft and spreadable — and about ¼ cup of the crisp cornbread crumbs.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
She says shorts are "the trickiest item to get right in a professional environment" and recommends tailored, longer shorts paired with a crisp shirt or lightweight blazer for both men and women.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
The all-terrain tires undo some of this good work; the taller sidewalls mean more deflection in sharp cornering, a less crisp steering response, and a bit more tire noise at highway speeds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
French fries and other fried foods are popular largely because of their crisp texture and rich flavor.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
In Deadwood, the leaves grew in a perpetual state of fall: crisp and colorful and lazily slumping toward the forest floor.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Sucking out excess humidity makes the air feel crisper and cooler without toggling the thermostat.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026
She’s wearing oversize sunglasses, a crisp collared shirt, an even crisper pleated navy skirt and leopard-print pumps.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
There’s a slick of something sticky in the crisper drawer that I’d rather not investigate.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2026
The good news is that there will be lulls between the successive weather systems, with sparkling sunshine and crisper conditions.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026
The air is cool, crisper than normal, but the ground isn’t wet, and her backyard is . . . not her backyard.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Aduba, 42, confirmed the news Sunday on Instagram, sharing a video that showcased the crispest of baby onesies along with a gentle “ta-da!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2023
The crispest quote of the modern political era was written in 2018 by a man named Frank Wilhoit.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2022
For the crispest presentation, serve cherries on ice.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2022
Find a star and bring it in and out of focus until it is the smallest, crispest dot of light that you can make it.
From The Verge ● Jan. 26, 2022
I found the crispest dollar bill and folded it into my letter.
From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
The marauding monkeys brazenly snatch ice cream, cakes and crisps from unwitting tourists in addition to gobbling abandoned leftovers from bins or food directly offered to them.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
It will launch "fan of the match" promotions for its Lays crisps brand during the tournament.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
All the kids would play out in the street every day, you could walk into any neighbor’s house and they would feed you or you could get a packet of crisps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
Sauté them together until the pancetta renders and lightly crisps, the onions turning translucent and sweet at the edges.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2026
He sprinkled the aku, fried to twisted crisps, and the peppers on the leaf and then rolled it up.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The skirt steak gets seared first until deeply browned, leaving behind savory crisped bits on the bottom of the skillet that become the foundation of the entire dish.
From Salon ● May 19, 2026
Each berry came out as a single large, flat flake that crisped when baked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026
Leftover pizza gets cut up, crisped on the stove and mixed into scrambled eggs—a remnant from Duggal’s college days that she has christened “pizza eggs.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
In addition to its customarily flavoring soups, batters and stews, along with anything cooked in liquids — braises, beans, grains — it can also be roasted or crisped, ground and used as a condiment.
From Salon ● May 14, 2024
He could see the perfectly crisped fried chicken leg lying on his plate beside his half-eaten potatoes.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Once the cooking area is cleared, Brown pours olive oil into a pan and shows Prado her trick for crisping tortillas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2024
The cake's surface will look different if it is soaked in syrup, making it moist and sticky, or if it is put in the oven, crisping and darkening the surface.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 7, 2023
While the squash gets a head start in the oven, you can dry out the chickpeas to encourage crisping.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 5, 2022
This will add amazing flavor to your stuffing but also won't make it soggy, allowing for an extra crisping under the broiler, if you wish.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2022
She made him taller, and massive, too, with crisping hair in curls like petals of wild hyacinth but all red-golden.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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.
