# crimp

> English word · Adjective · IPA /kɹɪmp/ · frequency rank #46,404

## Definitions
1. Easily crumbled; friable; brittle.
2. Weak; inconsistent; contradictory.

## Etymology
From Middle English crimpen (“to be contracted, be drawn together”), from Middle Dutch crimpen, crempen (“to crimp”), from Proto-Germanic *krimpaną (“to shrink, draw back”) (compare related Old English ġecrympan (“to curl”)). Cognate with Dutch krimpen, German Low German krimpen, Faroese kreppa (“crisis”), and Icelandic kreppa (“to bend tightly, clench”). Compare also derivative Middle English crymplen (“to wrinkle”) and causative crempen (“to turn something back, restrain”, literally “to cause to shrink or draw back”), both ultimately derived from the same root. See also cramp.

## Easily confused with
- **CRM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crimp-vs-crm)
- **crop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crimp-vs-crop)
- **Cris** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crimp-vs-cris)
- **crit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crimp-vs-crit)
- **crisp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crimp-vs-crisp)
- **crumb** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crimp-vs-crumb)
- **crump** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crimp-vs-crump)
- **Crist** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crimp-vs-crist)
- **crispy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crimp-vs-crispy)
- **crisps** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crimp-vs-crisps)
- **CRISPR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crimp-vs-crispr)
- **CRI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cri-vs-crimp)
- **CIP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cip-vs-crimp)
- **camp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/camp-vs-crimp)
- **crap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crap-vs-crimp)
- **chip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chip-vs-crimp)
- **clip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clip-vs-crimp)
- **comp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/comp-vs-crimp)
- **crib** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crib-vs-crimp)
- **cram** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cram-vs-crimp)

## Common misspellings (8)
`ccrimp`, `cirmp`, `crimmp`, `crimpp`, `cripm`, `crmip`, `crrimp`, `rcimp`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/crimp