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whisk

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To move something with quick light sweeping motions.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

wisk
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈwɪsk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To move something with quick light sweeping motions.

  2. transitive

    To move something rapidly and with no warning.

  3. intransitive

    To move lightly and nimbly.

  4. transitive

    In cooking, to whip e.g. eggs or cream.

  5. Move somewhere quickly

    “The President was whisked away in his limo.”

  6. Move quickly and nimbly

noun

  1. A kitchen utensil, now usually made from stiff wire loops fixed to a handle (and formerly of twigs), used for whipping (or a mechanical device with the same function).

  2. A quick, light sweeping motion.

  3. A bunch of twigs or hair etc, used as a brush.

  4. A small short-handled broom used to brush clothes

  5. A small handheld broom with a small (or no) handle.

  6. A plane used by coopers for evening chines.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Primarily written

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To move something with quick light sweeping motions.

Used this way, whisk is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use whisk

  • “The President was whisked away in his limo.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

whisk broomwhisk awaywhisk togetherwire whiskgradually whiskslowly whiskbowl whiskwhisk well

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • whiskersnounPerson or profession

    The hair growing on the lower part of a man's face.

  • whiskeynounDerived noun

    A liquor made from fermented mash of grain.

  • whiskynounDerived noun

    A liquor made from fermented mash of grain.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • whisk offverbCompound term

    Brush or wipe off lightly.

  • whisker jacknounCompound term

    A jay of northern North America with black-capped head and no crest.

  • whisk broomnounCompound term

    A small short-handled broom used to brush clothes.

  • whisk awayverbCompound term

    Take away quickly and suddenly.

  • whisk byverbCompound term

    Move by very quickly.

  • whisk fernnounCompound term

    Chiefly tropical clump-forming plants of skeletal appearance resembling whisk brooms.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.