wisp

UK: /ˈwɪsp/ US: /wɪsp/ ,(wisp)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

wisp /wɪsp/   n. [countable]

1. a small bundle of straw or hay.
2. a thin lock of hair.
3. a thin puff or streak, as of smoke.
4. a person or thing that is small or delicate.

wisp•y, adj., -i•er, -i•est. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

wisp  (wisp), n. 

1. a handful or small bundle of straw, hay, or the like.
2. any thin tuft, lock, mass, etc.:
   wisps of hair.
3. a thin puff or streak, as of smoke;
   slender trace.
4. a person or thing that is small, delicate, or barely discernible:
   a mere wisp of a lad; a wisp of a frown.
5. a whisk broom.
6. British Terms [Chiefly Brit. Dial.]
   • a pad or twist of straw, as used to rub down a horse.
   • a twisted bit of straw used as a torch.
7. a will-o'-the-wisp or ignis fatuus.

v.t. 

8. to twist into a wisp.

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

wisp′like′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

wisp / 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

Etymology: 14th Century: variant of wips, of obscure origin; compare wipe

ˈwispˌlike adjective