English Reference
adjective · noun

crispy

adj. · n.
US /ˈkɹɪspi/ UK /kɹˈɪspi/ crispy

  1. 01 A2 Elementary Cooking

    adj.describing food that is pleasantly hard and dry, making a sharp sound when you bite it.

    adj.having a firm, dry, and brittle texture that breaks easily under pressure.

    Simple

    The fried chicken was perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

    In context

    The chef achieved a remarkably crispy skin on the duck breast by rendering the fat slowly over a low flame before searing it.

  2. 02 C1 Advanced SlangInformal

    adj.looking very clean, new, or impressive.

    adj.denoting something that is aesthetically sharp, high-quality, or impressive; often used for clothing or media.

    Simple

    He showed up to the party in a crispy new pair of white sneakers.

    In context

    The high-definition footage looked incredibly crispy on the new monitor, showing details we had never noticed before.

  3. 03 C2 Proficiency InformalBritish English Cooking

    n.the tasty, hard pieces of fat on the outside of roasted meat.

    n.the brittle, well-baked fat found on the surface of roasted meat.

    Simple

    Everyone fought over the delicious crispies on top of the roast pork.

    In context

    The traditional recipe encourages leaving the joint in the oven until the surface is covered in salty, golden crispies.


From Middle English crispy; equivalent to crisp + -y.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Middle English crispy
Level A2 · Elementary
Frequency Frequent
Updated