put a crimp in

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see put, crimp, in.

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Meanings

verbput a crimp in (third-person singular simple present puts a crimp in, present participle putting a crimp in, simple past and past participle put a crimp in)

present singular third person puts a crimp in · participle present putting a crimp in

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see put, crimp, in.
  2. To spoil; to affect badly, preventing the usual or desired effect.

    It sure would put a crimp in things to have any vandalism happen here.

    2014, Gail Loreth, Sarah’s Revenge, →ISBN, page 57
    3 more examples

    This put a crimp in my style, so I was determined we were going to find our own place faster than the timetable we'd set ourselves.

    2010, Gay Fifer, The River in Egypt, →ISBN

    Everyone had expected the economic recession to put a crimp in Davis's ambitions.

    2012, Bill Finch, Beth Maynor Young, Rhett Johnson, Longleaf, Far as the Eye Can See, →ISBN

    Would marriage somehow put a crimp in your image as a beautiful, successful and single newscaster?

    2013, Devon Vaughn Archer, Love Is In The Air, →ISBN

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
spoil

Origin

By analogy with putting a crimp in a pipe or hose, thereby slowing or stopping the flow of liquid through it.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

put a crimp in. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20a%20crimp%20in

MLA

“put a crimp in.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20a%20crimp%20in. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “put a crimp in,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20a%20crimp%20in.

Source: put a crimp in on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.