sharper /ˈʃɑɹpɚ/ noun1 •(old-fashioned) A swindler; a cheat; a professional gambler who makes his living by cheating.He was a man whom scarcely any amount of fortune could have benefited permanently, and who was made to be ruined, to cheat small tradesmen, to be the victim of astuter sharpers … — 1848 formssharpers