What does crisping mean?
Crisping is the present participle of the verb "crisp", meaning to make something firm, dry, and agreeably brittle — most often food exposed to dry heat. Cooks speak of bacon, pastry, roast potatoes, or salad leaves crisping in the oven or pan, and the word carries strongly appetizing connotations of freshness and texture. A secondary, largely historical sense refers to curling hair: from the sixteenth century onward, heated implements called "crisping irons" were used to crimp and wave tresses, and the King James Bible mentions "crisping pins" among the ornaments of proud women. The word descends from the Latin "crispus", meaning curled or wrinkled, which also gives us "crepe" and the adjective "crisp" itself. Today the culinary use dominates entirely; the hairdressing sense survives only in historical writing and antiquarian vocabulary.
To make, or become, firm and pleasantly brittle, especially through baking, frying, or drying.
"The prosciutto was crisping under the grill while she tossed the salad."
Typically used in progressive constructions such as "is crisping" or "was crisping".
An act or instance of making something crisp; formerly also, a curling iron used for dressing the hair.
"Give the chips a final crisping under a hot broiler before serving."
As a noun this word is now uncommon; the curling-iron sense is archaic.
Very rare; the plural appears only occasionally in historical or technical writing.
"The recipe calls for several brief crispings in the oven rather than one long bake."
Before curling irons had their modern name, English speakers literally called them "crisping irons" — the same word that now describes your bacon described fashionable curls.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crisping
"Crisping" derives from the Middle English verb "crispen", borrowed from the Latin "crispus", meaning curled, crinkled, or wavy. That Latin root also produced "crepe" (via French) and underlies the rarer English botanical term "crispate". In English the word developed two strands of meaning: making things brittle by heat (food) and making hair curly with heated irons, the latter giving rise to the Renaissance-era "crisping iron". The culinary sense has remained in common use, while the coiffure sense faded after the eighteenth century.
Related word forms
How crisping is actually used
Almost always encountered as the progressive form of the verb "crisp", especially in cookery contexts. The noun senses are archaic and appear mainly in historical texts and older dictionaries; the KJV Bible's "crisping pins" (Isaiah 3:22) refers to curling instruments, not pins for holding fabric.
Easily confused with crisping
"Crispin" is a masculine given name (as in Saint Crispin, patron of shoemakers) derived from Latin crispus 'curly-haired', whereas "crisping" is the verb form meaning to make something brittle or curly.