# crispy

/ˈkɹɪspi/ (US) · /kɹˈɪspi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/crispy
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. food texture

adjective · CEFR A2

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

For teachers: having a firm, dry, and brittle texture that breaks easily under pressure.

- The fried chicken was perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
- The chef achieved a remarkably crispy skin on the duck breast by rendering the fat slowly over a low flame before searing it.

### 2. looking sharp or new

adjective · CEFR C1 · Slang · Informal

looking very clean, new, or impressive.

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

- He showed up to the party in a crispy new pair of white sneakers.
- The high-definition footage looked incredibly crispy on the new monitor, showing details we had never noticed before.

### 3. roasted fat

noun · CEFR C2 · Informal · British English

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

For teachers: the brittle, well-baked fat found on the surface of roasted meat.

- Everyone fought over the delicious crispies on top of the roast pork.
- The traditional recipe encourages leaving the joint in the oven until the surface is covered in salty, golden crispies.

## Examples

- The bacon is perfectly crispy and delicious.
- The chef recommends frying the potatoes at a high temperature to ensure they stay crispy on the outside.
- Achieving a crispy skin on the roast duck requires a meticulous process of air-drying the meat before it ever enters the oven to remove all surface moisture.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.