wisp

1 of 3

noun

ˈwisp 

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

wispily

ˈwi-spə-lē 

adverb

wispiness

ˈwi-spē-nəs 

noun

wispy

ˈwi-spē 

adjective

wisp

2 of 3

verb

wisped; wisping; wisps

transitive verb

1

: to roll into a wisp

2

: to make wisps of

… a cigarette wisping smoke at the corner of his mouth.

—Raymond Chandler

intransitive verb

: to emerge or drift in wisps

… her hair began to wisp into her eyes …

—Mary Manning

wispy

3 of 3

adjective

-pē 

-pi

-er/-est

: consisting of, resembling, or characterized by wisps : frail, nebulous

hair … drawn carelessly at the back into a wispy bun

—Fred Majdalany

a wispy little fellow with small hands and feet

—Edmund Wilson

have only a few, wispy memories of my existence prior to our moving there

—Marc Connelly

Examples 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

Noun

The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island Amelia Island, Florida An unspoiled wisp of a barrier island, Amelia Island has miles of pristine beaches with sand dunes and unfettered access to the Atlantic Ocean, plus a forest of giant oaks draped in Spanish moss just for good measure. —Allison Tibaldi, USA Today, 9 June 2026

Venus shines to the right in the image, surrounded by a diffuse haze as the sunlight reflected off its surface illuminates a wisp of cloud during its passage through Earth's atmosphere. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 9 June 2026

Verb

Sea salt, pink pepper, and olive trees wisp you into a land unknown with that one. —Meghan Rose, Glamour, 4 June 2025

Fog, gentle as smoke, wisps through the massive mausoleums, all rigorously planned by the Nguyen rulers during their lifetime. —Hanya Yanagihara, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

Middle English

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1753, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing wisp

• a wisp of a girl/boy
• will-o'-the-wisp

Rhymes for wisp

• crisp
• lisp

Kids Definition

wisp

noun

ˈwisp

1

: a small bunch of hay or straw

2

a

: a thin piece or strand

b

: a faint streak

a wisp of smoke

c

: something weak, slight, or delicate

a wisp of a smile

wispy

ˈwis-pē

adjective