WHISK

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(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does whisk mean? 

• WHISK (noun)
  The noun WHISK has 2 senses:

1. a mixer incorporating a coil of wires; used for whipping eggs or cream

2. a small short-handled broom used to brush clothes

  Familiarity information: WHISK used as a noun is rare.

• WHISK (verb)
  The verb WHISK has 4 senses:

1. move somewhere quickly

2. move quickly and nimbly

3. brush or wipe off lightly

4. whip with or as if with a wire whisk

  Familiarity information: WHISK used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WHISK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A mixer incorporating a coil of wires; used for whipping eggs or cream

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("whisk" is a kind of...):

mixer (a kitchen utensil that is used for mixing foods)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A small short-handled broom used to brush clothes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

whisk; whisk broom

Hypernyms ("whisk" is a kind of...):

broom (a cleaning implement for sweeping; bundle of straws or twigs attached to a long handle)

Derivation:

whisk (brush or wipe off lightly)

• WHISK (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they whisk    ... he / she / it whisks   
Past simple: whisked   
Past participle: whisked   
-ing form: whisking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Move somewhere quickly

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The President was whisked away in his limo

Hypernyms (to "whisk" is one way to...):

bring; convey; take (take something or somebody with oneself somewhere)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Move quickly and nimbly

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

He whisked into the house

Hypernyms (to "whisk" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 3

Meaning:

Brush or wipe off lightly

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

whisk; whisk off

Hypernyms (to "whisk" is one way to...):

pass over; wipe (rub with a circular motion)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

whisk (a small short-handled broom used to brush clothes)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Whip with or as if with a wire whisk

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

whip; whisk

Context example:

whisk the eggs

Hypernyms (to "whisk" is one way to...):

beat; scramble (stir vigorously)

Domain category:

cookery; cooking; preparation (the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

I tell you, sir, I couldn’t move a finger, nor get my breath, till it whisked away and was gone.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And so he was, for, as she laughed and talked, Jo had whisked things into place and given quite a different air to the room.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

This is because the bacterial cells were tightly attached to the paper fibers, which rapidly whisked the electrons away to the anode before oxygen could intervene.

(New Type of Battery Created from Paper, Fueled by Bacteria, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

As she whisked round to us, I gave a cry of surprise and horror.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

She suddenly whisked her wheels round and dashed straight at him.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Go along, you dog, do! cried the little creature, making a whisk at him with the handkerchief with which she was wiping her face, and don't be impudent!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Unbeknownst to the entire space physics community, 34 years ago Voyager 2 flew through a plasmoid, a giant magnetic bubble that may have been whisking Uranus' atmosphere out to space.

(The ice giant Uranus appears to be losing a bit of its atmosphere to space, NASA)

As for the Lion, he sniffed the fresh air with delight and whisked his tail from side to side in pure joy at being in the country again, while Toto ran around them and chased the moths and butterflies, barking merrily all the time.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

She had spoken with a rising voice, and a clasping and opening of her long white fingers, so that it was no marvel that ere the speech was over the skirts of Agatha were whisking round the door and the click of her sobs to be heard dying swiftly away down the corridor.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He walked up and down the room with little, impatient steps as he talked, turning with a whisk upon his heel every now and then, as if some invisible rail had brought him up.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)