Definitions for: Sharp


[n] a long thin sewing needle with a sharp point
[n] a musical notation indicating one half step higher than the note named
[adv] changing suddenly in direction and degree; "the road twists sharply after the light"; "turn sharp left here"
[adj] marked by practical hardheaded intelligence; "a smart businessman"; "an astute tenant always reads the small print in a lease"; "he was too shrewd to go along with them on a road that could lead only to their overthrow"
[adj] (of something seen or heard) clearly defined; "a sharp photographic image"; "the sharp crack of a twig"; "the crisp snap of dry leaves underfoot"
[adj] having or made by a thin edge or sharp point; suitable for cutting or piercing; "a sharp knife"; "a pencil with a sharp point"
[adj] keenly and painfully felt; as if caused by a sharp edge or point; "a sharp pain"; "sharp winds"
[adj] quick and forceful; "a sharp blow"
[adj] very sudden and in great amount or degree; "a sharp drop in the stock market"
[adj] extremely steep; "an abrupt canyon"; "the precipitous rapids of the upper river"; "the precipitous hills of Chinese paintings"; "a sharp drop"
[adj] high-pitched and sharp; "piercing screams"; "a shrill whistle"
[adj] very penetrating and clear and sharp in operation; "an incisive mind"; "a keen intelligence"; "of sharp and active intellect"
[adj] (music) raised in pitch by one chromatic semitone; "C sharp"
[adj] having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions; "an acute observer of politics and politicians"; "incisive comments"; "icy knifelike reasoning"; "as sharp and incisive as the stroke of a fang"; "penetrating insight"; "frequent penetrative observations"
[adj] harsh; "sharp criticism"; "a sharp-worded exchange"; "a tart remark"
[adj] ending in a sharp point
[adj] sour or bitter in taste



Webster (1913) Definition: Sharp, a. [Compar. Sharper; superl. Sharpest.] [OE.
sharp, scharp, scarp, AS. scearp; akin to OS. skarp, LG.
scharp, D. scherp, G. scharf, Dan. & Sw. skarp, Icel. skarpr.
Cf. Escarp, Scrape, Scorpion.]
1. Having a very thin edge or fine point; of a nature to cut
or pierce easily; not blunt or dull; keen.

He dies upon my scimeter's sharp point. --Shak.

2. Terminating in a point or edge; not obtuse or rounded;
somewhat pointed or edged; peaked or ridged; as, a sharp
hill; sharp features.

3. Affecting the sense as if pointed or cutting, keen,
penetrating, acute: to the taste or smell, pungent, acid,
sour, as ammonia has a sharp taste and odor; to the
hearing, piercing, shrill, as a sharp sound or voice; to
the eye, instantaneously brilliant, dazzling, as a sharp
flash.

4. (Mus.)
(a) High in pitch; acute; as, a sharp note or tone.
(b) Raised a semitone in pitch; as, C sharp (C[sharp]),
which is a half step, or semitone, higher than C.
(c) So high as to be out of tune, or above true pitch; as,
the tone is sharp; that instrument is sharp. Opposed
in all these senses to flat.

5. Very trying to the feelings; piercing; keen; severe;
painful; distressing; as, sharp pain, weather; a sharp and
frosty air.

Sharp misery had worn him to the bones. --Shak.

The morning sharp and clear. --Cowper.

In sharpest perils faithful proved. --Keble.

6. Cutting in language or import; biting; sarcastic; cruel;
harsh; rigorous; severe; as, a sharp rebuke. ``That sharp
look.'' --Tennyson.

To that place the sharp Athenian law Can not pursue
us. --Shak.

Be thy words severe, Sharp as merits but the sword
forbear. --Dryden.

7. Of keen perception; quick to discern or distinguish;
having nice discrimination; acute; penetrating; sagacious;
clever; as, a sharp eye; sharp sight, hearing, or
judgment.

Nothing makes men sharper . . . than want.
--Addison.

Many other things belong to the material world,
wherein the sharpest philosophers have never ye?
arrived at clear and distinct ideas. --L. Watts.

8. Eager in pursuit; keen in quest; impatient for
gratification; keen; as, a sharp appetite.

9. Fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous. ``In sharp
contest of battle.'' --Milton.

A sharp assault already is begun. --Dryden.

10. Keenly or unduly attentive to one's own interest; close
and exact in dealing; shrewd; as, a sharp dealer; a sharp
customer.

The necessity of being so sharp and exacting.
--Swift.

11. Composed of hard, angular grains; gritty; as, sharp sand.
--Moxon.

12. Steep; precipitous; abrupt; as, a sharp ascent or
descent; a sharp turn or curve.

13. (Phonetics) Uttered in a whisper, or with the breath
alone, without voice, as certain consonants, such as p,
k, t, f; surd; nonvocal; aspirated.

Note: Sharp is often used in the formation of self-explaining
compounds; as, sharp-cornered, sharp-edged,
sharp-pointed, sharp-tasted, sharp-visaged, etc.

Sharp practice, the getting of an advantage, or the attempt
to do so, by a tricky expedient.

To brace sharp, or To sharp up (Naut.), to turn the yards
to the most oblique position possible, that the ship may
lie well up to the wind.

Syn: Keen; acute; piercing; penetrating; quick; sagacious;
discerning; shrewd; witty; ingenious; sour; acid; tart;
pungent; acrid; severe; poignant; biting; acrimonious;
sarcastic; cutting; bitter; painful; afflictive;
violent; harsh; fierce; ardent; fiery.


Sharp, adv.
1. To a point or edge; piercingly; eagerly; sharply. --M.
Arnold.

The head [of a spear] full sharp yground. --Chaucer.

You bite so sharp at reasons. --Shak.

2. Precisely; exactly; as, we shall start at ten o'clock
sharp. [Colloq.]

Look sharp, attend; be alert. [Colloq.]


Sharp, n.
1. A sharp tool or weapon. [Obs.]

If butchers had but the manners to go to sharps,
gentlemen would be contented with a rubber at cuffs.
--Collier.

2. (Mus.)
(a) The character [[sharp]] used to indicate that the note
before which it is placed is to be raised a half step,
or semitone, in pitch.
(b) A sharp tone or note. --Shak.

3. A portion of a stream where the water runs very rapidly.
[Prov. Eng.] --C. Kingsley.

4. A sewing needle having a very slender point; a needle of
the most pointed of the three grades, blunts, betweens,
and sharps.

5. pl. Same as Middlings, 1.

6. An expert. [Slang]


Sharp, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sharped; p. pr. & vb. n.
Sharping.]
1. To sharpen. [Obs.] --Spenser.

2. (Mus.) To raise above the proper pitch; to elevate the
tone of; especially, to raise a half step, or semitone,
above the natural tone.


Sharp, v. i.
1. To play tricks in bargaining; to act the sharper.
--L'Estrange.

2. (Mus.) To sing above the proper pitch.

Synonyms: abrupt, acerb, acerbic, acuate, acute, astringent, astute, carnassial, crisp, cutting, discriminating, distinct, edged, forceful, fulgurating, high, high-pitched, incisive, intelligent, intense, keen, knifelike, lancinate, lancinating, penetrating, penetrative, perceptive, piercing, precipitous, salt, scratching, sharpened, sharply, sharp-worded, shrewd, shrill, smart, sour, stabbing, steep, sudden, tart, unpleasant

Antonyms: dull, flat, natural

See Also: musical notation, pointed, sewing needle

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