adjective

1. stiff and brittle; easily broken, snapped, or crumbled crisp bacon, cookies, etc.
2. fresh and firm crisp celery
3. fresh and tidy a crisp uniform
4. sharp and clear a crisp analysis
5. lively; animated crisp dialogue
6. fresh and invigorating; bracing crisp air
7. sharply and squarely hit a crisp tennis shot
8. closely curled and wiry crisp hair
9. rippled; wavy; wrinkled

Etymology: ME & OE < L crispus, curly, waving < IE base *(s)kreisp-, to shake > crest

noun

1. something crisp; now, specif.,
   1. a piece of food, esp. a cookie, that is thin and crisp or contains a crunchy ingredient
   2. something made crisp, as by overcooking: chiefly in the phrase to a crisp dinner burned to a crisp
   3. a dessert consisting of fruit baked with a crumbly topping as of flour, sugar, and butter apple crisp
2. Brit. potato chip

transitive verb, intransitive verb