English Explanatory Dictionary

sharp

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Terminating in a point or edge, especially one that can cut or pierce easily; not dull, obtuse, or rounded.
  2. Intelligent.
  3. Raised by one semitone (denoted by the symbol ⟨♯⟩ after the name of the note).
  4. Higher in pitch than required.
  5. Having a strong acrid or acidic taste.
  6. Sudden, abrupt, intense, rapid.
  7. Illegal or dishonest.
  8. Keenly or unduly attentive to one's own interests; shrewd, verging on dishonest.
  9. Exact, precise, accurate; keen.
  10. Offensive, critical, or acrimonious; stern or harsh.
  11. Stylish, smart or attractive.
  12. Observant; alert; acute.
adv
  1. In a sharp manner: a less usual alternative to sharply in certain senses.
  2. To a point or edge.
  3. Piercingly.
  4. Eagerly.
  5. So as to make a sharp, or tight, angle.
  6. Exactly.
  7. In a higher pitch than is correct or desirable.
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.
  2. A note that is played one chromatic semitone higher than usual; denoted by the name of the note that is followed by the symbol ⟨♯⟩.
  3. A note that is sharp in a particular key.
  4. The scale having a particular sharp note as its tonic.
  5. Something that is sharp.
  6. A hypodermic syringe.
  7. A scalpel or other edged instrument used in surgery.
  8. A sharp object; any item pointed enough to injure human skin.
  9. A dishonest person; a cheater.
  10. Part of a stream where the water runs very rapidly.
  11. A sewing needle with a very slender point, more pointed than a blunt or a between.
  12. Fine particles of husk mixed with coarse particle of flour of cereals; middlings.
verb
  1. To raise the pitch of a note half a step making a natural note a sharp.
  2. To play tricks in bargaining; to act the sharper.
  3. To sharpen.
name
  1. A surname.
  2. An unincorporated community in Ozark County, Missouri, United States.
noun
  1. Acronym of skinhead against racial prejudice.

Pronunciation

/ʃɑːp/ /ʃɑɹp/ en-us-sharp.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-sharp.wav

Word forms

sharp sharper sharpest sharps sharping sharped Sharpe

Etymology

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.

Synonyms

keen razor razor-sharp pointed brainy bright intelligent smart witty acrid pungent abrupt acute stabbing dishonest dodgy illegal illicit underhand accurate exact precise acrimonious bitter cutting harsh hostile nasty chic elegant stylish alert observant sharp-eyed on the dot precisely exactly

Antonyms

blunt dull dim dim-witted slow slow-witted thick flat bland insipid tasteless above-board honest legit legitimate reputable inaccurate imprecise complimentary flattering friendly kind nice inelegant scruffy shabby unobservant

Related words

accidental flat natural ♯ sharp-sharp

Derived words

battle-sharp besharp better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick bittersharp dagger-sharp demisharp laser-sharp look sharp needle-sharp nonsharp not the sharpest knife in the drawer not the sharpest pencil in the box outsharp oversharp pin-sharp razor sharp scary sharp sharp as a bowling ball sharp as a butter knife sharp as a tack sharp-beaked ground finch sharpbill sharp cedar sharpchin sharp cookie sharp-cornered sharp-edged sharp-elbowed sharp elbows sharp end sharp end of one's tongue sharpfin Sharpie sharpish sharpling sharply sharpness sharp-nosed sharp-pointed sharp power sharp practice sharp rush sharp s sharp sand sharp-set sharp-shinned hawk sharp-shod sharpshooting sharp short-lived head pain sharp-sighted sharp-sightedness sharpster sharptail sharptailed sharp-tailed grouse sharp-tailed sandpiper sharp-tailed sparrow sharp-tailed streamcreeper sharp tongue sharp-tongued
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