Library / English Dictionary

CRISP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A thin crisp slice of potato fried in deep fat

Synonyms:

chip; crisp; potato chip; Saratoga chip

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("crisp" is a kind of...):

snack food (food for light meals or for eating between meals)

Derivation:

crisp (make brown and crisp by heating)

crisp; crispy (tender and brittle)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Brief and to the point; effectively cut short

Example:

short and terse and easy to understand

Synonyms:

crisp; curt; laconic; terse

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

concise (expressing much in few words)

Derivation:

crispness (an expressive style that is direct and to the point)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(of something seen or heard) clearly defined

Example:

the crisp snap of dry leaves underfoot

Synonyms:

crisp; sharp

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

distinct (easy to perceive; especially clearly outlined)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(of hair) in small tight curls

Synonyms:

crisp; frizzly; frizzy; kinky; nappy

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

curly ((of hair) having curls or waves)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Pleasingly firm and fresh

Example:

crisp lettuce

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

fresh (recently made, produced, or harvested)

Derivation:

crispness (a pleasing firmness and freshness)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Pleasantly cold and invigorating

Example:

snappy weather

Synonyms:

crisp; frosty; nipping; nippy; snappy

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

cold (having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Tender and brittle

Example:

crisp potato chips

Synonyms:

crisp; crispy

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

tender (easy to cut or chew)

Derivation:

crisp (a thin crisp slice of potato fried in deep fat)

crispness (firm but easily broken)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make brown and crisp by heating

Example:

crisp potatoes

Synonyms:

crisp; crispen; toast

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "crisp" is one way to...):

heat; heat up (make hot or hotter)

Domain category:

cookery; cooking; preparation (the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

crisp (a thin crisp slice of potato fried in deep fat)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make wrinkles or creases on a smooth surface; make a pressed, folded or wrinkled line in; 'crisp' is archaic

Example:

crease the paper like this to make a crane

Synonyms:

crease; crinkle; crisp; ruckle; scrunch; scrunch up; wrinkle

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "crisp" is one way to...):

fold; fold up; turn up (bend or lay so that one part covers the other)

Domain usage:

archaicism; archaism (the use of an archaic expression)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "crisp"):

cockle; crumple; knit; pucker; rumple (to gather something into small wrinkles or folds)

pucker; ruck; ruck up (become wrinkled or drawn together)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

The load quivered, and from under the runners arose a crisp crackling.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Many snacks picked up at the checkout may be unplanned, impulse buys – and the options tend to be confectionary, chocolate or crisps.

(Removing sweets and crisps from supermarket checkouts linked to dramatic fall in unhealthy snack purchases, University of Cambridge)

If attached, choose to meet in a restaurant known for delicious food with an atmosphere of flowers, candlelight, perhaps a fireplace with a warm, crackling fire, and crisp white tablecloths. Heaven!

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Through the thin haze of my cigar-smoke I noted the details of a face which was already familiar to me from many photographs—the strongly-curved nose, the hollow, worn cheeks, the dark, ruddy hair, thin at the top, the crisp, virile moustaches, the small, aggressive tuft upon his projecting chin.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And south, still south, they would go, while the winter raced vainly after them, and the ice formed in the eddies, and the days grew chill and crisp, south to some warm Hudson Bay Company post, where timber grew tall and generous and there was grub without end.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

My father had risen to depart, but the admiral, with that kindliness which he ever showed to the young, and which had been momentarily chilled by the unfortunate splendour of my clothes, still paced up and down in front of us, shooting out crisp little sentences of exhortation and advice.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

At last, however, the bumping of the road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of a gravel-drive, and the carriage came to a stand.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Du Guesclin eyed her keenly from time to time, and passed his broad brown fingers through his crisp, curly black hair with the air of a man who is perplexed in his mind.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was a sharp bracing air; the ground was dry; the sea was crisp and clear; the sun was diffusing abundance of light, if not much warmth; and everything was fresh and lively.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The study found that 76% fewer purchases of sugary confectionary, chocolate and potato crisps were bought and eaten ‘on-the-go’ from supermarkets with checkout food policies compared to those without.

(Removing sweets and crisps from supermarket checkouts linked to dramatic fall in unhealthy snack purchases, University of Cambridge)