sharp

English

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Etymology

From Middle English, from Old English scearp, from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz (cf. West Frisian skerp, Low German scharp, Dutch scherp, German scharf, Danish skarp), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerb(h) (cf. Irish cearb 'keen; cutting', Latin acerbus 'tart, bitter', Tocharian B kärpye 'rough', Latvian skârbs 'sharp, rough', Russian  (ščerba) 'notch', Albanian harb 'rudeness'), from *(s)ker- (“to cut”). More at shear.

Pronunciation

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.
  2. (colloquial) Intelligent.
    My nephew is a sharp lad; he can count to 100 in six languages, and he's only five years old.
  3. Able to pierce easily; pointed.
    Ernest made the pencil too sharp and accidentally stabbed himself with it.
  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. Exact, precise, accurate; keen.
    You'll need sharp aim to make that shot.
  10. Offensive, critical, or acrimonious, as sharp criticism.
    When the two rivals met, first there were sharp words, and then a fight broke out.
  11. (colloquial) Stylish or attractive.
    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. 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
  14. (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.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Terms derived from sharp (adjective)

Translations

able to cut easily
intelligent
able to pierce easily
of a note, played a semitone higher than usual
musically higher-pitched than desired
having an intense, acrid flavour
intense and sudden (of pain)
illegal or dishonest
exact, precise, accurate, keen
offensive, critical, or acrimonious
stylish or attractive
observant, alert, acute
forming a small angle
(mathematics) as extreme a value as possible
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 Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Adverb

sharp (comparative sharper, superlative sharpest)

  1. (no comparative or superlative) Exactly.
    I'll see you at twelve o'clock sharp.
  2. (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

exactly
in a higher pitch than is correct or desirable

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 which is sharp.
    Place sharps in the specially marked red container for safe disposal.
  6. (medicine) A hypodermic syringe.
  7. (medicine, dated) A scalpel or other edged instrument used in surgery.
  8. A dishonest person; a cheater.
    The casino kept in the break room a set of pictures of known sharps for the bouncers to see.

Derived terms

Translations

sign for a sharp note on the staff
note that is sharp in a particular key
sharp object
cheater or dishonest person
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 Help:How to check 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

to raise the pitch

Anagrams

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Last modified on 19 May 2013, at 20:56