wisp

American  

[wisp] / wɪsp /

noun

1. a handful or small bundle of straw, hay, or the like.

2. any thin tuft, lock, mass, etc..

   wisps of hair.

3. a thin puff or streak, as of smoke; slender trace.

4. a person or thing that is small, delicate, or barely discernible.

   a mere wisp of a lad; a wisp of a frown.

5. a whisk broom.

6. Chiefly British Dialect.

   1. a pad or twist of straw, as used to rub down a horse.

   2. a twisted bit of straw used as a torch.

7. a will-o'-the-wisp or ignis fatuus.

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verb (used with object)

1. to twist into a wisp.

wisp ¹ British  

/ wɪsp /

noun

1. a thin, light, delicate, or fibrous piece or strand, such as a streak of smoke or a lock of hair

2. a small bundle, as of hay or straw

3. anything slender and delicate

   a wisp of a girl

4. a mere suggestion or hint

5. a flock of birds, esp snipe

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verb

1. to move or act like a wisp

2. dialect (tr) to twist into a wisp

3. (tr) to groom (a horse) with a wisp of straw, etc

WISP ² British  

/ wɪsp /

acronym

1. Wireless Information Service Provider: an internet service provider set up to deal with and deliver internet services to clients through wireless access points

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Other Word Forms

• wisplike adjective

Etymology

Origin of wisp

1300–50; Middle English wisp, wips; akin to wipe

Example Sentences

She ran into the dress shop with wisps of straw stuck to her legs and only minutes to choose, for the wagon could not wait long.

From Literature

It showed wisps of fog floating by, and below the fog was the ocean.

From Literature

Two pianists weave together brief musical statements—crawling, low-end figures; chiming high notes; staggered phrases; wisps of possible melodies.

From The Wall Street Journal

He zooms the camera in to wisps of white smoke rising from the dirt.

From Los Angeles Times

The remark carries a delicate wisp of rueful irony.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• tuft