sharp

adjective24

1. •
   able to cut or go into things easily because its edge or point is very thin

   • I keep my knives sharp so that they don't slip unexpectedly while carving.
   • Ernest made the pencil too sharp and accidentally stabbed himself with it.
2. •
   Sudden, abrupt, intense, rapid.

   • A pregnant woman during labor normally experiences a number of sharp contractions.
   • The man turned and made a sharp movement towards the door.
3. •
   Forming a small or tight 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.
4. •
   Steep; precipitous; abrupt.
5. •
   Piercing; keen; severe; painful.

   • Sharp misery had worn him to the bones. — 1591
6. •
   Intelligent.

   • My nephew is a sharp lad; he can count to 100 in six languages, and he's only five years old.
7. •
   Offensive, critical, or acrimonious; stern or harsh.

   • When the two rivals met, first there were sharp words, and then a fight broke out.
8. •
   Strongly distinguishing or differentiating; acute.
9. •
   Observant; alert; acute.

   • Keep a sharp watch on the prisoners. I don't want them to escape!
10. •
    Quick and alert.

    • Jones, the centre forward, made a sharp start to the game.
11. •
    Having a strong acrid or acidic taste.

    • Milly couldn't stand sharp cheeses when she was pregnant, because they made her nauseated.
    • This grapefruit is especially sharp.
12. •
    (informal) Stylish, smart or attractive.

    • You look so sharp in that tuxedo!
13. •
    Exact, precise, accurate; keen.

    • You'll need sharp aim to make that shot.
14. •
    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.
15. •
    Raised by one semitone (denoted by the symbol ⟨♯⟩ after the name of the note).
16. •
    Higher in pitch than required.

    • The orchestra's third violin several times was sharp about an eighth of a tone.
17. •
    (informal) Illegal or dishonest.

    • Michael had a number of sharp ventures that he kept off the books.
18. •
    (informal) Keenly or unduly attentive to one's own interests; shrewd, verging on dishonest.

    • But, as they have hitherto stood, a clergyman established in a competent living is not under the necessity of being so sharp, vigilant, and exacting. — 1732
19. •
    Tactical; risky.

    • 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[…] — 1975
20. •
    Eager or keen in pursuit; impatient for gratification.
21. •
    Composed of hard, angular grains; gritty.

    • 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[…] — 1700
22. •
    (old-fashioned) Uttered in a whisper, or with the breath alone; aspirated; unvoiced.
23. •
    (no longer used) Fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous.

    • And fear of God, from whom their piety feign'd In sharp contest of battle found no aid Against invaders — 1667
24. •
    (no longer used) Hungry.

    • “[W]hy this last week we ha'n't had nothing at all but some dry musty red herrings; so you may think, Miss, we're kept pretty sharp!” — 1782

noun14

1. •
   A note that is played one chromatic semitone higher than usual; denoted by the name of the note that is followed by the symbol ⟨♯⟩.
2. •
   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.
3. •
   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.

   • 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.
4. •
   [usually plural] Something that is sharp.

   • Place sharps in the specially marked red container for safe disposal.
5. •
   [usually plural] A hypodermic syringe.
6. •
   [usually plural] A sharp object; any item pointed enough to injure human skin.
7. •
   A sewing needle with a very slender point, more pointed than a blunt or a between.
8. •
   [usually plural] (old-fashioned) A scalpel or other edged instrument used in surgery.
9. •
   The scale having a particular sharp note as its tonic.

   • Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is written in C♯ minor (C sharp minor).
10. •
    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 a variant spelling of shark, and unrelated to the 'pointed' or 'cutting' meanings of sharp.
11. •
    [in the plural] Fine particles of husk mixed with coarse particle of flour of cereals; middlings.

    • 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. — 1954
12. •
    (slang, old-fashioned) An expert.
13. •
    A sharpie (member of Australian gangs of the 1960s and 1970s).

    • 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. — 2006
14. •
    Part of a stream where the water runs very rapidly.

    • here are good fish to be picked out of sharps and stop-holes into the water-tables — 1858

adverb7

1. •
   In a sharp manner: a less usual alternative to sharply in certain senses.
2. •
   exactly, not even one minute later or earlier, used after a time of day

   • I'll see you at twelve o'clock sharp.
3. •
   with a sudden, large change of direction

   • South of the city the river turns sharp to the east.
   • sharp left, sharp right
4. •
   In a higher pitch than is correct or desirable.

   • I didn't enjoy the concert much because the soprano sang sharp on all the high notes.
5. •
   To a point or edge.
6. •
   so strongly that it seems to go deep into the body like a knife, often said of a sound or of cold weather

   • The iron plates rang sharp, but turn'd the spear — 1853
7. •
   Eagerly.

   • You bite so sharp at reasons. — 1602

verb3

1. •
   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.

   • he made a shift yet to pick up a Sorry Living upon the Rook ; and not by Sharping alone , but now and then by downright Stealing — 1692
3. •
   (no longer used) To sharpen.

noun1

1. •
   Acronym of skinhead against racial prejudice.