wisp
/wɪsp/noun, verb
wisp is spelled W-I-S-P: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, wisp means “A small bundle, as of straw or other like substance; a twisted handful of something; any slender, flexible structure or group” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of wisp is wisps.
How many letters and syllables are in wisp?
| Letters | 4: W-I-S-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 42,680th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is wisp?
Wisp appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce wisp?
- /wɪsp/
Wisp has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-wisp.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with wisp?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as wisp.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: swip.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of wisp
- wisps plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- wisping participle, present
- wisped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wisp mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small bundle, as of straw or other like substance; a twisted handful of something; any slender, flexible structure or group.
A wisp of hair escaped her barrette and whipped wildly in the wind.
- 2
A small, thin line of cloud, smoke, or steam.
A wisp of smoke rose from the candle for a few moments after he blew it out.
- 3
A whisk, or small broom.
- 4
A will o' the wisp, or ignis fatuus.
- 5
An immeasurable, indefinable essence of life; soul.
- 6
archaicA flock of snipe.
- 7
A disease affecting the feet of cattle.
verb
- 1
To brush or dress, as with a wisp.
- 2
UKobsoleteTo rumple.
- 3
To produce a wisp, as of smoke.
- 4
To emit in wisps.
noun
- 1
Acronym of wireless internet service provider.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wisp in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a small bundle, as of straw or other like substance:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | brin, fétu, touffe |
| German | Haarbüschel, Strohbündel, Wisch, Strähne, dünne Fahne |
| Portuguese | tufo |
| Spanish | brizna, mechón, voluta, jirón |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does wisp come from?
From Middle English wispe, wyspe, wips, wipse, perhaps from an unrecorded Old English *wisp, *wips. Cognate with West Frisian wisp, Dutch wisp (“bundle of hay or straw”), Norwegian bokmål/Swedish/Bornholm Danish visp (“handful or bundle of grass, hay, etc.”). Akin also to Middle Dutch/Middle Low German wispel (“measure of grain”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).