sharp

See also: Sharp

English

Etymology

From Middle English scharp, from Old English sċearp, from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerb-. Cognate with West Frisian skerp, Low German scharp, 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”), Albanian harb (“rudeness”), from *(s)ker- (“to cut”). More at shear.

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ʃɑːp/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ʃɑɹp/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)p

Adjective

sharp (comparative sharper, superlative sharpest)

  1. Able to cut easily.
    I keep my knives sharp so that they don't slip unexpectedly while carving.
    • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter II, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], OCLC 752825175, page 071:
      Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.
  2. (colloquial) Intelligent.
    My nephew is a sharp lad; he can count to 100 in six languages, and he's only five years old.
    • 2015 February 20, Jesse Jackson, “In the Ferguson era, Malcolm X’s courage in fighting racism inspires more than ever”, in The Guardian (London)‎:
      At school, despite his sharp mind, Malcolm was laughed at by teachers when he said he wanted to be a lawyer.
  3. Terminating in a point or edge; not obtuse or rounded.
    Ernest made the pencil too sharp and accidentally stabbed himself with it.
    a sharp hill;  a face with sharp features
  4. (music) Higher than usual by one semitone (denoted by the symbol ♯ after the name of the note).
  5. (music) Higher in pitch than required.
    The orchestra's third violin several times was sharp about an eighth of a tone.
  6. Having an intense, acrid flavour.
    Milly couldn't stand sharp cheeses when she was pregnant, because they made her nauseated.
  7. Sudden and intense.
    A pregnant woman during labor normally experiences a number of sharp contractions.
  8. (colloquial) Illegal or dishonest.
    Michael had a number of sharp ventures that he kept off the books.
  9. (colloquial) Keenly or unduly attentive to one's own interests; shrewd.
    a sharp dealer;  a sharp customer
    • (Can we date this quote?) Jonathan Swift
      the necessity of being so sharp and exacting
  10. Exact, precise, accurate; keen.
    You'll need sharp aim to make that shot.
    • 2013 July-August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist:
      Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. […] A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that. Developed as a tool to electronically combine the sharpest bits of multiple digital images, focus stacking is a boon to biologists seeking full focus on a micron scale.
  11. Offensive, critical, or acrimonious.
    sharp criticism;  When the two rivals met, first there were sharp words, and then a fight broke out.
  12. (colloquial) Stylish or attractive.
    You look so sharp in that tuxedo!
  13. Observant; alert; acute.
    Keep a sharp watch on the prisoners. I don't want them to escape!
  14. Forming a small 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.
    • 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I,
      The street down which Warwick had come intersected Front Street at a sharp angle in front of the old hotel, forming a sort of flatiron block at the junction, known as Liberty Point
  15. Steep; precipitous; abrupt.
    a sharp ascent or descent;  a sharp turn or curve
  16. (mathematics, of a statement) 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.
  17. (chess) Tactical; risky.
    • 1963, Max Euwe, Chess Master Vs. Chess Amateur (page xviii)
      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.
    • 1975, Luděk Pachman, Decisive Games in Chess History (page 64)
      In such situations most chess players choose the obvious and logical way: they go in for sharp play. However, not everyone is a natural attacking player […]
  18. Piercing; keen; severe; painful.
    a sharp pain;  the sharp and frosty winter air
    • (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
      Sharp misery had worn him to the bones.
    • (Can we date this quote?) William Cowper
      the morning sharp and clear
    • (Can we date this quote?) John Keble
      in sharpest perils faithful proved
  19. Eager or keen in pursuit; impatient for gratification.
    a sharp appetite
  20. (obsolete) Fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous.
    • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
      in sharp contest of battle
    • (Can we date this quote?) John Dryden
      A sharp assault already is begun.
  21. Composed of hard, angular grains; gritty.
    • 1700, Edward Moxon, Mechanical Exercises
      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 […]
  22. (phonetics, dated) Uttered in a whisper, or with the breath alone; aspirated; unvoiced.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms
Terms derived from sharp (adjective)

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Adverb

sharp (comparative sharper, superlative sharpest)

  1. To a point or edge; piercingly; eagerly; sharply.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of M. Arnold to this entry?)
    • Shakespeare
      You bite so sharp at reasons.
  2. (not comparable) Exactly.
    I'll see you at twelve o'clock sharp.
  3. (music) In a higher pitch than is correct or desirable.
    I didn't enjoy the concert much because the tenor kept going sharp on the high notes.

Synonyms

Translations

Noun

sharp (plural sharps)

  1. (music) 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 a semitone higher.
    The pitch pipe sounded out a perfect F♯ (F sharp).
    Transposition frequently is harder to read because of all the sharps and flats on the staff.
  2. (music) A note that is played a semitone higher than usual; denoted by the name of the note that is followed by the symbol ♯.
  3. (music) 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.
  4. (music) The scale having a particular sharp note as its tonic.
    Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" is written in C♯ minor (C sharp minor.)
  5. (usually in the plural) Something that is sharp.
    Place sharps in the specially marked red container for safe disposal.
  6. A sharp tool or weapon.
    • Collier
      If butchers had but the manners to go to sharps, gentlemen would be contented with a rubber at cuffs.
  7. (medicine) A hypodermic syringe.
  8. (medicine, dated) A scalpel or other edged instrument used in surgery.
  9. A dishonest person; a cheater.
    The casino kept in the break room a set of pictures of known sharps for the bouncers to see.
    This usage is often classified as variant spelling of shark, and unrelated to the 'pointed' or 'cutting' meanings of sharp.
  10. Part of a stream where the water runs very rapidly.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Charles Kingsley to this entry?)
  11. A sewing needle with a very slender point, more pointed than a blunt or a between.
  12. (in the plural) Fine particles of husk mixed with coarse particle of flour of cereals; middlings.
    • 1954, Barbara Comyns, Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead, Dorothy 2010, p. 21:
      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.
  13. (slang, dated) An expert.
  14. A sharpie (member of Australian gangs of the 1960s and 1970s).
    • 2006, Iain McIntyre, Tomorrow Is Today: Australia in the Psychedelic Era, 1966-1970
      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.

Derived terms

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also

Verb

sharp (third-person singular simple present sharps, present participle sharping, simple past and past participle sharped)

  1. (music) 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.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of L'Estrange to this entry?)

Translations

Anagrams
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.