What does crimp mean?
"Crimp" is a word with both a tactile and a figurative life. In its most familiar sense, it describes pressing or pinching something—pie dough, fabric trim, or hair—into small, regular ridges or folds, a technique bakers use to seal crusts and stylists once used to give hair zigzag texture. Figuratively, to crimp something is to restrict or hamper it: rising costs may crimp household budgets, or regulation may crimp an industry's expansion, giving the word a slightly negative connotation of constraint in business and news writing. As a noun, a crimp is one of those folds themselves, and the term carries a colorful historical meaning as well—a "crimp" was once a person who tricked or coerced seamen into serving on ships, part of the notorious practice known as shanghaiing. Whether describing a pastry edge or a squeezed budget, "crimp" conveys compression into tight, constrained form, making it a vivid choice for writers who want precision with a hint of pressure.
To press or pinch something, especially dough, fabric, metal, or hair, into small regular folds or ridges; also, figuratively, to restrict, hinder, or put a constraint upon something.
"Use a fork to crimp the edges of the turnover so the filling stays inside during baking."
The figurative sense typically appears with objects like spending, growth, plans, or supply.
A small fold or ridge made by crimping; also, historically, a person who enticed or forced others, especially sailors, into service by fraudulent means.
"Give the crust a decorative crimp all the way around."
The 'recruiter' sense is chiefly of historical interest, associated with eighteenth- and nineteenth-century port towns.
The plural refers to multiple individual folds or ridges, most commonly in cooking or craft contexts.
"The pastry chef finished the tart with neat crimps around the rim."
Before pastry wheels and fancy tools existed, bakers' thumbs were the original crimpers — that decorative zigzag on your pie crust is centuries old.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crimp
The origins of "crimp" are somewhat obscure, but it emerged in English around the early seventeenth century, likely borrowed from a Low German or Dutch source related to words for bending or contracting. It shares Germanic roots with "cramp," which similarly suggests constriction, and is possibly connected to "scrimp." The figurative sense of hindering or restricting developed naturally from the physical image of squeezing something into cramped folds.
Related word forms
How crimp is actually used
The physical sense (folding dough or hair) is neutral and everyday; the figurative sense ('to crimp growth') appears mostly in journalism and business writing. The historical noun sense referring to recruiters who shanghaied sailors is now largely confined to maritime history.
Easily confused with crimp
A cramp is a sudden painful muscle contraction, while a crimp is a small fold, ridge, or restriction imposed on something.
To scrimp is to economize severely by spending as little as possible, whereas to crimp is to fold material or to hinder something.