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
Touré, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025
Scientists have long suspected that the will-o’-the-wisp’s spectral glow came from a chemical reaction in gases released by decaying organic matter.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
Meghan Rose, Glamour, 4 June 2025
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
The band members leave to find their places onstage, the room clears, and D is left alone, his Shaft-like black leather coat stretching past his knees, his cornrows tight and clean, every last wisp whipped into place, his skin brown like chocolate Häagen-Dazs.
—Touré, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025
Scientists have long suspected that the will-o’-the-wisp’s spectral glow came from a chemical reaction in gases released by decaying organic matter.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
Verb
Sea salt, pink pepper, and olive trees wisp you into a land unknown with that one.
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 4 June 2025
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 Nov. 2025.
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