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That which confines or contracts; a restraint; a shakle; a hindrance. A narrow fortune is a cramp to a great mind. L'Estrange. Crippling his pleasures with the cramp of fear. Cowper.

A contraction of two vowels (as the final and initial vowels of united words) into one long vowel, or into a dipthong; synæresis; as, cogo for coago.

Criminal; wicked; contrary to law, right, or dury. [Obs.] Shak.

To cause to contract, or to render more crisp, as the flesh of a fish, by gashing it, when living, with a knife; as, to crimp skate, etc. Crimping house, a low lodging house, into which men are decoyed and plied with drink, to induce them to ship or enlist as sailors or soldiers. -- Crimping iron. (a) An iron instrume…

To cause to shrink or draw together; to contract; to curl. [R.] Wiseman.

To contract; to draw together; to cause to shrink or wrinkle; to distort. [Obs.] Till like a boy you see him cringe his face, And whine aloud for mercy. Shak.

A very slight convulsive or spasmodic contraction of certain muscles, external or internal. Few men can look down from a great height without creepings and crispations. O. W. Holmes.

With opposition or hindrance; at cross purposes; contrarily; as, things go crisscross.

Not accordant with what is wished or expected; interrupting; adverse; contrary; thwarting; perverse. "A cross fortune." Jer. Taylor. The cross and unlucky issue of my design. Glanvill. The article of the resurrection seems to lie marvelously cross to the common experience of mankind. South. We are both love's captives,…

into the surfase of any piece of furniture, wainscoting, etc., so that the grain of it is contrary to the general surface.

A counter or opposing purpose; hence, that which is inconsistent or contradictory. Shaftesbury.

To flow across, or in a contrary direction. "His crossflowing course." Milton.

ng. If the stuff proves crossgrained, . . . then you must turn your stuff to plane it the contrary way. Moxon.

Contradiction; thwarting; obstruction. I do not bear these crossings. Shak.

A wheel with cogs or teeth set at right angles to its plane; -- called also a contrate wheel or face wheel.

To contract irregularly; to show wrinkless after being crushed together; as, leaves crumple.

To gather or contract into a hard crust; to become incrusted. The place that was burnt . . . crusted and healed. Temple.

To contract or bend into curis or ringlets, as hair; to grow in curls or spirals, as a vine; to be crinkled or contorted; to have a curly appearance; as, leaves lie curled on the ground. Thou seest it [hair] will not curl by nature. Shak.

r unconsciously, wholly by self- interest or self-indulgence, and that appearances to the contrary are superficial and untrustworthy. He could obtain from one morose cynic, whose opinion it was impossible to despise, scarcely any not acidulated with scorn. Macaulay.

en so woven that a pattern in produced by the different directions of the thread, without contrast of color.