Meaning & use
crisp
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Firm and dry in a way that makes a snapping sound when bitten or broken.
Grammar: Used for food: crisp apples.
The apple was cold and crisp.
The toast came out crisp and golden.
A crisp lettuce leaf crunches.
adjectivecomparable
Cool, fresh and dry, used of weather or air.
Grammar: Often before a noun: a crisp morning.
We walked in the crisp autumn air.
It was a crisp, bright morning.
adjectivecomparable
Neat, clean and clear, as clothes, speech or sound.
Grammar: Positive word for tidy presentation.
He wore a crisp white shirt.
Her crisp answer left no doubt.
nouncountableBritish
A thin fried slice of potato sold as a snack.
Grammar: British; American English says chip or potato chip.
Patterns
- a packet of crisps
He opened a bag of crisps.
Crisps are sold in the school shop.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To become firm and dry or to make something so.
Grammar: Often with up: crisp up the skin.
Patterns
- crisp something up
Heat the bread to crisp it.
The edges crisped in the oven.
Word forms
| comparative | crisper |
|---|---|
| superlative | crispest |
| plural | crisps |
| past tense | crisped |
Common combinations
- crisp air
- The crisp air woke us up.
- crisp bacon
- He likes crisp bacon.
- crisp white shirt
- A crisp white shirt looks smart.
- crisp packet
- A crisp packet blew by.
Synonyms and how they differ
- crunchy
- Crunchy emphasizes the noise of chewing, while crisp also suggests freshness.
- brisk
- Brisk describes quick, lively weather, less about dryness.
- neat
- Neat means tidy; crisp adds a sharp, fresh look.
Opposites
Word family
- crispy adjective
- pleasantly hard and crunchy
- crispness noun
- the quality of being crisp
- crisply adverb
- in a clear, sharp way
Commonly confused: crisp or crispy?
crisp vs crispy
Crispy is usually for food that is cooked crunchy; crisp can also describe weather and clothes.
Practice
We took a walk on a ___ winter morning, with frost on the grass.
Choose one answer.
Crisp describes cool, fresh, dry weather. Stuffy suggests bad air, and soggy and limp do not describe weather in this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “crisp”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.