crimped; crimping; crimps
1
: to cause to become wavy, bent, or pinched: such as
a
: to form (leather) into a desired shape
b
: to give (synthetic fibers) a curl or wave like that of natural fibers
c
: to pinch or press together (something, such as the margins of a pie crust) in order to seal
2
: to be an inhibiting or restraining influence on : cramp
sales had been crimped by credit controls—
Time
Time
: a person who entraps or forces men into shipping as sailors or into enlisting in an army or navy
Examples of crimp in a Sentence
Noun (1)
a small crimp in the dollar bill prevented it from being accepted by the bill changer
made a tiny little crimp in the corner of the Queen of Spades
the strike could put a real crimp in the production schedule
Recent Examples on the Web
Joern Hackbarth, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Unlike the state of things in mid-2021—when crimps in the semiconductor supply chain cropped up in big ways—supply and demand have become much less of a mismatch.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Mar. 2023
Scott Cohn, CNBC, 12 July 2025
Inflation surged ahead to start 2025, crimping Americans' buying power and serving as a warning to policymakers — whether those contemplating new tariffs or further interest rate cuts — that price pressures are not yet vanquished.
—Courtenay Brown, Axios, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crimp
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Noun
The visual inspection of a connector cannot reveal internal crimp deformation, oxidation or micro-movement.
—Joern Hackbarth, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Unlike the state of things in mid-2021—when crimps in the semiconductor supply chain cropped up in big ways—supply and demand have become much less of a mismatch.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Mar. 2023
Verb
And tariffs — so far, a wildly moving target — are already crimping the economies of states that depend on international commerce.
—Scott Cohn, CNBC, 12 July 2025
Inflation surged ahead to start 2025, crimping Americans' buying power and serving as a warning to policymakers — whether those contemplating new tariffs or further interest rate cuts — that price pressures are not yet vanquished.
—Courtenay Brown, Axios, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crimp
Cite this Entry
“Crimp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crimp. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
crimp
1 of 2 verb1
: to make wavy or bent
2
: to pinch or press together
crimp the edges of a pie crust
crimp
2 of 2 noun1
: something produced by or as if by crimping
2
: something that holds back
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