whisk

plural whisks

1. A quick, light sweeping motion.

   With a quick whisk, she swept the cat from the pantry with her broom.

2. 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).

   He used a whisk to whip up a light and airy souffle.

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

   Peter dipped the whisk in lather and applied it to his face, so he could start shaving.

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

   I used a whisk to sweep the counter, then a push-broom for the floor.

5. A plane used by coopers for evening chines.
6. A kind of cape, forming part of a woman's dress.

   My wife in her new lace whiske.

   1665 March 21 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “March 12th, 1664–1665”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume IV, London: George Bell & Sons […]; Cambridge: Deighton Bell & Co., published 1894, →OCLC

present singular third person whisks · participle present whisking · participle past whisked · past whisked

1. transitiveTo move something with quick light sweeping motions.

   Vernon whisked the sawdust from his workbench.

   2 more examples

   He that walks in gray, whisking his riding Page.

   1626 February 13 (licensing date; Gregorian calendar), Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “The Noble Gentleman”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)

   She held out her empty glass and it was adroitly whisked from her hand.

   1968, Carl Ruhen, The Key Club, Sydney: Scripts, page 40

2. transitiveIn cooking, to whip e.g. eggs or cream.

   The chef prepared to whisk the egg whites for the angel's food cake.

   1 more example

   First, marinate the tofu. In a bowl, whisk the kecap manis, chilli sauce, and sesame oil together. Cut the tofu into strips about 1cm thick, mix gently (so it doesn't break) with the marinade and leave in the fridge for half an hour.

   2012 May 8, Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, Random House, →ISBN, page 79

3. transitiveTo move something rapidly and with no warning.

   The governess whisked the children from the room before they could see their presents.

   1 more example

   July 3, 1769, Horace Walpole, letter to the Earl of Strafford I beg she would not impale worms, nor whisk carp out of one element into another.

4. intransitiveTo move lightly and nimbly.

   The children whisked down the road to the fair, laughing and chattering as they went.

   1 more example

   The stories did not seem to me to touch life. […] They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

5. transitiveTo move whiskers.

1. obsoleteuncountableThe card game whist.

   Trump, noddy, whisk, hole[…]

   1621, John Taylor, Taylor's Motto