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Sharp

//ʃɑːp// adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective

1
Terminating in a point or edge, especially one that can cut or pierce easily; not dull, obtuse, or rounded.
"I keep my knives sharp so that they don't slip unexpectedly while carving."
2
Intelligent. colloquial
"My nephew is a sharp lad; he can count to 100 in six languages, and he's only five years old."
3
Raised by one semitone (denoted by the symbol ♯ after the name of the note).
4
Higher in pitch than required.
"The orchestra's third violin several times was sharp about an eighth of a tone."
5
Having a strong acrid or acidic taste.
"Milly couldn't stand sharp cheeses when she was pregnant, because they made her nauseated."

Show 19 more definitions

6
Sudden, abrupt, intense, rapid.
"A pregnant woman during labor normally experiences a number of sharp contractions."
7
Illegal or dishonest. colloquial
"Michael had a number of sharp ventures that he kept off the books."
8
Keenly or unduly attentive to one's own interests; shrewd, verging on dishonest. colloquial
"a sharp dealer, a sharp customer, sharp practice"
9
Exact, precise, accurate; keen.
"You'll need sharp aim to make that shot."
10
Offensive, critical, or acrimonious; stern or harsh.
"sharp criticism"
11
Stylish, smart or attractive. colloquial
"You look so sharp in that tuxedo!"
12
Observant; alert; acute.
"Keep a sharp watch on the prisoners. I don't want them to escape!"
13
Quick and alert.
"Jones, the centre forward, made a sharp start to the game."
14
Strongly distinguishing or differentiating; acute.
"a sharp contrast, a sharp distinction"
15
Forming a small or tight angle; especially, forming an angle of less than ninety degrees.
"Drive down Main for three quarters of a mile, then make a sharp right turn onto Pine."
16
Steep; precipitous; abrupt.
"a sharp ascent or descent"
17
Said of as extreme a value as possible.
"Sure, any planar graph can be five-colored. But that result is not sharp: in fact, any planar graph can be four-colored. That is sharp: the same can't be said for any lower number."
18
Tactical; risky.
"Time and time again, the amateur player has lost the opportunity to make the really best move because he felt bound to follow some chess "rule" he had learned, rather than to make the sharp move which was indicated by the position."
19
Piercing; keen; severe; painful.
"a sharp pain; the sharp and frosty winter air"
20
Eager or keen in pursuit; impatient for gratification.
"a sharp appetite"
21
Fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous. obsolete
"And fear of God, from whom their piety feign'd In sharp contest of battle found no aid Against invaders"
22
Composed of hard, angular grains; gritty.
"Well-burnt good lime and sharp sand, if very sharp, a load of sand (about 36 bushels) to a hundred of lime (being 25 bushels, or a hundred pecks[…]"
23
Uttered in a whisper, or with the breath alone; aspirated; unvoiced. dated
24
Hungry. obsolete
"“[W]hy this last week we ha'n't had nothing at all but some dry musty red herrings; so you may think, Miss, we're kept pretty sharp!”"

Adjective

1
marked by practical hardheaded intelligence wordnet
2
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined wordnet
3
having or made by a thin edge or sharp point; suitable for cutting or piercing wordnet
4
keenly and painfully felt; as if caused by a sharp edge or point wordnet
5
quick and forceful wordnet

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6
very sudden and in great amount or degree wordnet
7
dangerously steep wordnet
8
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones wordnet
9
(of a musical note) raised in pitch by one chromatic semitone wordnet
10
having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions wordnet
11
harsh wordnet
12
ending in a sharp point wordnet

Adverb

1
In a sharp manner: a less usual alternative to sharply in certain senses.; To a point or edge.
2
In a sharp manner: a less usual alternative to sharply in certain senses.; Piercingly.
"The iron plates rang sharp, but turn'd the spear"
3
In a sharp manner: a less usual alternative to sharply in certain senses.; Eagerly.
"You bite so sharp at reasons."
4
In a sharp manner: a less usual alternative to sharply in certain senses.; So as to make a sharp, or tight, angle.
"South of the city the river turns sharp to the east."
5
Exactly. not-comparable
"I'll see you at twelve o'clock sharp."

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6
In a higher pitch than is correct or desirable.
"I didn't enjoy the concert much because the soprano sang sharp on all the high notes."

Adverb

1
changing suddenly in direction and degree wordnet

Proper Noun

1
A surname.
2
An unincorporated community in Ozark County, Missouri, United States.

Noun

1
The symbol ♯, placed after the name of a note in the key signature or before a note on the staff to indicate that the note is to be played one chromatic semitone higher.
"The pitch pipe sounded out a perfect F♯ (F sharp)."
2
Acronym of skinhead against racial prejudice. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
3
a long thin sewing needle with a sharp point wordnet
4
A note that is played one chromatic semitone higher than usual; denoted by the name of the note that is followed by the symbol ♯.
5
a musical notation indicating one half step higher than the note named wordnet

Show 13 more definitions

6
A note that is sharp in a particular key.
"The piece was difficult to read after it had been transposed, since in the new key many notes were sharps."
7
The scale having a particular sharp note as its tonic.
"Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" is written in C♯ minor (C sharp minor.)"
8
Something that is sharp. plural-normally
"Place sharps in the specially marked red container for safe disposal."
9
Something that is sharp.; A hypodermic syringe. plural-normally
10
Something that is sharp.; A scalpel or other edged instrument used in surgery. dated, plural-normally
11
Something that is sharp.; A sharp object; any item pointed enough to injure human skin. plural-normally
12
A dishonest person; a cheater.
"The billiard sharp whom anyone catches / His doom's extremely hard— [...]"
13
Part of a stream where the water runs very rapidly.
"here are good fish to be picked out of sharps and stop-holes into the water-tables"
14
A sewing needle with a very slender point, more pointed than a blunt or a between.
15
Fine particles of husk mixed with coarse particle of flour of cereals; middlings. in-plural
"While he worked he talked to his ducks, who were waddling about hopefully, as it was almost time for the red bucket to be filled with sharps and potato-peelings."
16
An expert. dated, slang
17
A sharpie (member of Australian gangs of the 1960s and 1970s).
"The Circle was one of the few dances the older sharps frequented; mostly they were to be found in pubs, pool-halls or at the track."
18
Alternative form of sharpie (“type of fishing boat”). alt-of, alternative

Verb

1
To raise the pitch of a note half a step making a natural note a sharp.
"That new musician must be tone deaf: he sharped half the notes of the song!"
2
To play tricks in bargaining; to act the sharper.
"he made a shift yet to pick up a Sorry Living upon the Rook ; and not by Sharping alone , but now and then by downright Stealing"
3
To sharpen. obsolete, transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English scharp, from Old English sċearp, from Proto-West Germanic *skarp, from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerb-, from *(s)ker- (“to cut”). Cognate with West Frisian skerp, Low German scherp, scharp, schaarp, Dutch scherp, German scharf, Danish skarp. Compare Irish cearb (“keen; cutting”), Latin acerbus (“tart, bitter”), Tocharian B kärpye (“rough”), Latvian skârbs (“sharp, rough”), Russian щерба (ščerba, “notch”), Polish szczerba (“gap, dent, jag, chip, nick, notch”), Albanian harb (“rudeness”). More at shear.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

Etymology 4

Etymology 5

* As an English, Scottish and occasionally Irish (translated from géar) surname, from the adjective sharp. * As a German surname, Americanized from scharf (“sharp”), same meaning as above.

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