Wiktionary

sharpener

English edit

Etymology edit

sharpen +‎ -er

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈʃɑː(ɹ)pənə(ɹ)/
    • Audio (Southern England)(file)

Noun edit

 
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sharpener (plural sharpeners)

  1. A device for making things sharp.
    There was a pencil sharpener at the front of the classroom.
  2. (figurative) That which makes something sharp.
    • 1795, Hannah More, The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain:
      “Sir,” said the shepherd, “poverty is a great sharpener of the wits. […]
    • 1872, Chambers's miscellany of instructive & entertaining tracts:
      The snuff-box, knife, and chicken-bones were again in requisition, and a pen was successfully formed. The ink, or at least its substitute, was rather more difficult, but necessity is always a sharpener of intellect, and even this was accomplished.
  3. (informal) An alcoholic drink taken at the start of the day, or just before a meal.

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