wisp

[wisp]

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.

verb (used with object)

1. to twist into a wisp.

wisp

¹

/ 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

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• wisplike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wisp¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of wisp¹

C14: variant of wips, of obscure origin; compare _wipe

Example Sentences

A wisp of a player at 5 feet 3, he wasn’t a particularly strong shooter and didn’t score much.

From Los Angeles Times

Six years later, Ritter’s muse finally latched onto that wisp of a notion and it is now a full-blown “hall of distorted mirrors” thriller called “Retreat.”

From Los Angeles Times

He takes a wisp of an idea, a what-if, and turns it into a viable aesthetic.

From Los Angeles Times

“This is the future,” Mahoney said as the LaserWeeder moved through the lettuce, leaving small wisps of smoke in its wake.

From Los Angeles Times

As for the northern lights, the geomagnetic storm that brought brilliant wisps of red, green and purple to Seattle’s skies “is starting to decrease,” Lindeman said.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• tuft