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Sharp   /ʃɑrp/   Listen
adjective
Sharp  adj.  (compar. sharper; superl. sharpest)  
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."
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, 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." "The morning sharp and clear." "In sharpest perils faithful proved."
6.
Cutting in language or import; biting; sarcastic; cruel; harsh; rigorous; severe; as, a sharp rebuke. "That sharp look." "To that place the sharp Athenian law Can not pursue us." "Be thy words severe, Sharp as merits but the sword forbear."
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."
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." "A sharp assault already is begun."
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."
11.
Composed of hard, angular grains; gritty; as, sharp sand.
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.
Synonyms: 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.


adverb
Sharp  adv.  
1.
To a point or edge; piercingly; eagerly; sharply. "The head (of a spear) full sharp yground." "You bite so sharp at reasons."
2.
Precisely; exactly; as, we shall start at ten o'clock sharp. (Colloq.)
Look sharp, attend; be alert. (Colloq.)


noun
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."
2.
(Mus.)
(a)
The character 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.
3.
A portion of a stream where the water runs very rapidly. (Prov. Eng.)
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)


verb
Sharp  v. t.  (past & past part. sharped; pres. part. sharping)  
1.
To sharpen. (Obs.)
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.
2.
(Mus.) To sing above the proper pitch.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Sharp" Quotes from Famous Books



... drawing near its close. Half an hour more and the workmen would be free to rest. Only half an hour! Suddenly there was a sharp clicking sound, then a cry, and in an instant all was bustle and confusion at the Marlborough Steel Works. The great hammers hung suspended in mid-air, the whirling wheels were still, while the workmen, with faces showing pale beneath the grime, gathered hastily ...
— A Beautiful Possibility • Edith Ferguson Black
... Miss Drewitt, checking a sharp retort, returned to the door and looked out. The patch of blue increased in size; the rain ceased and the sun came out; birds exchanged congratulations from every tree. The girl, gathering up her wet skirts, walked to the gate, ...
— Dialstone Lane, Complete • W.W. Jacobs
... Scouts are sent out, and lie in ambush for him; they discover what "apothecarie's shop he resorts to every morning, or in what tobacco-shop in Fleet-street he takes a pipe of smoke in the afternoon;" the usual resorts of the loungers of that day. Some sharp wit of the Ordinarie, a pleasant fellow, whom Robert Greene calls the "taker-up," one of universal conversation, lures the heir of seven hundred a-year to "The Ordinarie." A gull sets the whole aviary in spirits; and Decker ...
— Curiosities of Literature, Vol. II (of 3) - Edited, With Memoir And Notes, By His Son, The Earl Of Beaconsfield • Isaac D'Israeli
... right. The towboatmen had Captain Barney where they wanted him, and they meant to gaff him hard. He had always been too sharp for the rest, too good at a bargain, too mean; and what was more, he was in every way the best towboatman that ever lived. No one liked him; but the steamship-captains engaged his services for towing and piloting, nevertheless, for the reason that they considered him a disagreeable necessity, ...
— Dan Merrithew • Lawrence Perry
... sharp fire, and made such a noise, that presently Jabez, the coachman and general factotum, was dancing with rage in the yard below—rage at the noise they were making and the litter he foresaw he would have to sweep up before "the master" saw the place, and added rage at the calm unconcern with which ...
— Kitty Trenire • Mabel Quiller-Couch


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