1
: a small handful (as of hay or straw)
2
a
: a thin strip or fragment
b
: a thready streak
a wisp of smoke
c
: something frail, slight, or fleeting
a wisp of a girl
a wisp of a smile
3
archaic
: will-o'-the-wisp
wisped; wisping; wisps
1
: to roll into a wisp
2
: to make wisps of
a cigarette wisping smoke at the corner of his mouth—
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
: to emerge or drift in wisps
her hair began to wisp into her eyes—Mary Manning
Mary ManningExamples of wisp in a Sentence
Noun
Wisps of steam rose up from the teapot.
Wisps of cotton candy clung to his mouth.
Recent Examples on the Web
Marit Fischer, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2025
Her eyewear was usually cushioned by her coiffed blonde hair; her beauty aesthetic built intentionally around ‘notes on bangs’: From side-swept to feathery wisps, thick curtains, and a pixie fringed trim.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 1 Feb. 2025
Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 17 Dec. 2015
Then, the wind will wisp them away on a strand of silk, carrying them to new regions, or even states, reports Live Science.
—Rasha Aridi, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for wisp
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Noun
Rose was both shell and wisp, awake and asleep, a patient just on this side of the border between life and death.
—Marit Fischer, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2025
Her eyewear was usually cushioned by her coiffed blonde hair; her beauty aesthetic built intentionally around ‘notes on bangs’: From side-swept to feathery wisps, thick curtains, and a pixie fringed trim.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 1 Feb. 2025
Verb
Tropical trade winds blow in a band across the equator, spinning off cyclones and storms, which wisp away and scatter into westerly currents.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 17 Dec. 2015
Then, the wind will wisp them away on a strand of silk, carrying them to new regions, or even states, reports Live Science.
—Rasha Aridi, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for wisp
Cite this Entry
“Wisp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wisp. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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