A wispof hair is a small, thin, untidy bunch of it.
She smoothed away a wisp of hair from her eyes. [+ of]
Synonyms: piece, twist, strand, thread More Synonyms of wisp
2. countable noun
A wispof something such as smoke or cloud is an amount of it in a long thin shape.
A thin wisp of smoke straggled up through the trees. [+ of]
...an occasional wisp of white cloud.
wisp in British English
(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
6. (intransitive; often foll byaway)
to move or act like a wisp
7. (transitive) mainly British dialect
to twist into a wisp
8. (transitive) mainly British
to groom (a horse) with a wisp of straw, etc
Derived forms
wisplike (ˈwispˌlike)
adjective
Word origin
C14: variant of wips, of obscure origin; compare wipe
WISP in British English
(wɪsp)
noun 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
wisp in American English
(wɪsp)
noun
1.
a small bundle or bunch, as of straw
2.
a thin, slight, or filmy piece, strand, etc.
a wisp of smoke
3.
something delicate, frail, etc.
a wisp of a girl
4.
will-o'-the-wisp
verb transitive
5.
to roll into a wisp
Derived forms
wispy (ˈwispy)
adjectiveWord forms: ˈwispier or ˈwispiest
Word origin
ME, prob. < Scand, as in Swed visp, a bundle of rushes or twigs, akin to ON visk: see whisk
Examples of 'wisp' in a sentence
wisp
By the window where he had been standing a thin wisp of mist drifted across the floor.
Barbara Erskine HIDING FROM THE LIGHT (2002)
She saw herself a tiny attenuated wisp, flapping loose in the wind.
Salley Vickers INSTANCES OF THE NUMBER 3 (2002)
A wisp of hair had settled in a crescent along her cheek, the bottom point lingering near the corner of her mouth.
Gregg Andrew Hurwitz DO NO HARM (2002)
Word lists with
wisp
Tack and equipment and their parts
In other languages
wisp
British English: wisp NOUN
A wisp of hair is a small, thin, untidy bunch of it.
She smoothed away a wisp of hair from her eyes.
American English: wisp
Brazilian Portuguese: mecha
Chinese: 一撮
European Spanish: mechón
French: mèche
German: Büschel
Italian: ciocca
Japanese: 細い束
Korean: 가는 것의 가닥
European Portuguese: mecha
Latin American Spanish: mechón
(noun)
Definition
a small untidy bundle, tuft, or strand
She smoothed away a wisp of hair from her eyes.
Synonyms
piece
a piece of wood
Another piece of cake?
twist
strand
high fences, topped by strands of barbed wire
thread
a hat embroidered with golden threads
shred
Cut the cabbage into fine long shreds.
snippet
I read a snippet she had cut from a magazine.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of shred
Definition
a long narrow piece torn off something
Cut the cabbage into fine long shreds.
Synonyms
strip,
bit,
piece,
scrap,
fragment,
rag,
ribbon,
snippet,
sliver,
tatter
in the sense of snippet
Definition
a small scrap or fragment
I read a snippet she had cut from a magazine.
Synonyms
piece,
scrap,
fragment,
part,
particle,
snatch,
shred
in the sense of strand
Definition
one of the individual fibres of string or wire that form a rope, cord, or cable
high fences, topped by strands of barbed wire
Synonyms
filament,
fibre,
thread,
length,
lock,
string,
twist,
rope,
wisp,
tress
Nearby words of
wisp
wish
wish for
wishy-washy
wisp
wispy
wistful
wit
Synonyms of 'wisp'
wisp
Explore 'wisp' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of thread
Definition
a fine cord of twisted yarns, esp. of cotton, used in sewing or weaving