wisp

[ wisp ]

/ wɪsp /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR wisp ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

any thin tuft, lock, mass, etc.: wisps of hair.

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

a person or thing that is small, delicate, or barely discernible: a mere wisp of a lad; a wisp of a frown.

a whisk broom.

Chiefly British Dialect.

a pad or twist of straw, as used to rub down a horse.
a twisted bit of straw used as a torch.

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

verb (used with object)

to twist into a wisp.

Origin of wisp

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

OTHER WORDS FROM wisp

wisp·like, adjective

Words nearby wisp

wisht, wishy-washy, wiskott-aldrich syndrome, wislany zalew, wismar, wisp, wispy, wissler, wissler's syndrome, wist, wister

Example sentences from the Web for wisp

A thin man with a wisp of a goatee beard, he struggles with a stutter to explain what happened to him that day.

Photographs Expose Russian-Trained Killers in Kiev |Jamie Dettmer |March 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Susan took her horse there; loosened his girths, and rubbed him down with a wisp of straw.

Half a Life-time Ago |Elizabeth Gaskell
No—all gone; and my eyebrows and mustache, and every wisp of hair from my head.

The American Baron |James De Mille
It was only a wisp of motion, a mere flutter in the aspens, and as soon as Ted spotted it, he lost it.

Double Challenge |James Arthur Kjelgaard

Then turn round the horse in the stall, brush his head well, and wisp it clean and smooth with a damp lock of hay.

Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million |Sarah Josepha Hale
They, too, would receive a wisp of sweet hay willingly from the hand.

Hodge and His Masters |Richard Jefferies

British Dictionary definitions for wisp (1 of 2)

wisp

/ (wɪsp) /

noun

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

a small bundle, as of hay or straw

anything slender and delicate a wisp of a girl

a mere suggestion or hint

a flock of birds, esp snipe

verb

(intr often foll by away) to move or act like a wisp

(tr) mainly British dialect to twist into a wisp

(tr) mainly British to groom (a horse) with a wisp of straw, etc

Derived forms of wisp

wisplike, adjective

Word Origin for wisp

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

British Dictionary definitions for wisp (2 of 2)

WISP

/ (wɪsp) /

n acronym for

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

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

wisp

noun

verb (used with object)

Origin of wisp

OTHER WORDS FROM wisp

Words nearby wisp

Example sentences from the Web for wisp

British Dictionary definitions for wisp (1 of 2)

noun

verb

Derived forms of wisp

Word Origin for wisp

British Dictionary definitions for wisp (2 of 2)

n acronym for

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

wisp

noun

verb (used with object)

Origin of wisp

OTHER WORDS FROM wisp

Words nearby wisp

Words related to wisp

Example sentences from the Web for wisp

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for wisp (1 of 2)

noun

verb

Derived forms of wisp

Word Origin for wisp

British Dictionary definitions for wisp (2 of 2)

n acronym for

British Dictionary definitions for wisp (1 of 2)