having a thin cutting edge or a fine point; well-adapted for cutting or piercing.
a sharp knife.
terminating in an edge or point; not blunt or rounded.
The table had sharp corners.
involving a sudden or abrupt change in direction or course.
a sharp curve in the road; The car made a sharp turn.
abrupt, as an ascent.
a sharp drop.
consisting of angular lines and pointed forms or of thin, long features.
He had a sharp face.
clearly defined; distinct.
a sharp photographic image.
distinct or marked, as a contrast.
sharp differences of opinion.
pungent or biting in taste.
a sharp cheese.
piercing or shrill in sound.
a sharp cry.
keenly cold, as weather.
a sharp, biting wind.
felt acutely; intense; distressing.
sharp pain.
merciless, caustic, or harsh.
sharp words.
fierce or violent.
a sharp struggle.
keen or eager.
sharp desire.
quick, brisk, or spirited.
alert or vigilant.
They kept a sharp watch for the enemy.
mentally acute.
a sharp lad.
extremely sensitive or responsive; keen.
sharp vision; sharp hearing.
shrewd or astute.
a sharp bargainer.
shrewd to the point of dishonesty.
sharp practice.
Music.
(of a tone) raised a chromatic half step in pitch.
F sharp.
above an intended pitch, as a note; too high (opposed to flat).
Informal. very stylish.
a sharp dresser; a sharp jacket.
Radio, Electronics. of, relating to, or responsive to a very narrow range of frequencies.
Phonetics. fortis; voiceless.
composed of hard, angular grains, as sand.
keenly or acutely.
abruptly or suddenly.
to pull a horse up sharp.
punctually.
Meet me at one o'clock sharp.
briskly; quickly.
The horse turned sharp to the left.
Music. above the true pitch.
You're singing a little sharp.
something sharp.
Usually sharps a medium-length needle with a rounded eye and a sharp point, used for all-purpose hand sewing.
a sharper.
Informal. an expert.
Music.
a tone one chromatic half step above a given tone.
(in musical notation) the symbol ♯ indicating this.
having a keen edge suitable for cutting
having an edge or point; not rounded or blunt
involving a sudden change, esp in direction
a sharp bend
moving, acting, or reacting quickly, efficiently, etc
sharp reflexes
clearly defined
mentally acute; clever; astute
sly or artful; clever in an underhand way
sharp practice
bitter or harsh
sharp words
shrill or penetrating
a sharp cry
having an acrid taste
keen; biting
a sharp wind
sharp pain
music
(immediately postpositive) denoting a note that has been raised in pitch by one chromatic semitone
B sharp
(of an instrument, voice, etc) out of tune by being or tending to be too high in pitch Compare flat 1
phonetics a less common word for fortis
informal
stylish
too smart
involved in the area of any activity where there is most difficulty, competition, danger, etc
in a sharp manner
exactly
six o'clock sharp
music
higher than a standard pitch
out of tune by being or tending to be too high in pitch Compare flat 1
she sings sharp
music
an accidental that raises the pitch of the following note by one chromatic semitone
a note affected by this accidental Compare flat 1
a thin needle with a sharp point
informal a sharper
(usually plural) any medical instrument with sharp point or edge, esp a hypodermic needle
Sharp, keen refer to the edge or point of an instrument, tool, and the like. Sharp applies, in general, to a cutting edge or a point capable of piercing: a sharp knife; a sharp point. Keen is usually applied to sharp edges: a keen sword blade. As applied to mental qualities, sharp, keen, intelligent, quick have varying implications. Sharp suggests an acute, sensitive, alert, penetrating quality: a sharp mind. Keen implies observant, incisive, and vigorous: a keen intellect. Intelligent means not only acute, alert, and active, but also able to reason and understand: an intelligent reader. Quick suggests lively and rapid comprehension, prompt response to instruction, and the like: quick at figures.
First recorded before 900; (adjective) Middle English; Old English scearp; cognate with German scharf; (adverb) Middle English; Old English scearpe, derivative of the adjective; (noun, verb) Middle English, derivative of the adjective
Something with a thin edge or a fine point that can cut is sharp. It's painful when your dog climbs into your lap, poking you with his sharp toenails. A knife and a pointed stick are sharp, since they can pierce or cut, and a piercing pain in your neck is also sharp. You can also use sharp to describe a smart person or clever decision — or someone who dresses well, or the clothes such a person wears. Sharp also means clear, like sharp images in a book of black and white photography, or sudden, like a sharp turn in a mountain road.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These launches, conducted from a Texas base near protected natural areas, have drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups in recent years.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
A sharp rise in for-sale listings is one reason Las Vegas is seeing home prices fall.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Researchers report that people assigned to Tübingen's type 2 diabetes risk cluster 5 continued to experience rising blood sugar, a sharp decline in insulin production, and a consistently elevated risk of developing diabetes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
Despite the sharp fall in crude, "there is still significant uncertainty baked into these prices and a reticence about whether negotiations will lead to a lasting breakthrough," she added.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Taken aback at my sharp tone, Mr. Lew tucked his chin.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Sharp spikes in oil prices that dropped just as quickly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Sharp up and down days are increasingly common, suggesting chaos beneath the market’s bid-and-ask machinations.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Fighting jet lag back in Scotland, Sharp said his first reflection was that “the whole trip was so worthwhile.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
Kieron Sharp, chairman of FACT, said illegal streaming was "not a harmless shortcut".
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
Jane Sharp looked at the girl, settled the fee with Thomas, and rolled up her sleeves.
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
It also found wall-mounter hand sanitising containers were empty and medical sharps bins were filled to above capacity.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2022
The old ones go into a sharps container — a sturdy plastic box — that he sends to Trac-B Exchange in Las Vegas, where they are sterilized and pulverized for safe disposal.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2022
The other thing, and you heard it here first, is if some sharps from Hoboken make an offer on your property, don’t sell.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 4, 2021
Sure, he’ll miss all the sharps and flats; If he were a movie, he’d be “Cats.”
From Washington Post ● Feb. 18, 2021
Notice that you can't avoid double sharps or double flats by writing the note on a different space or line.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
But that agreement can obscure a much sharper divergence.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026
Her other two priorities are sharper accountability and strong cost and capital discipline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
The innovation produces sharper images in less time and can be integrated into existing MRI systems rather than requiring entirely new machines.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
The debate over health diplomacy has been thrown into sharper relief in recent weeks following the spread of a new outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
On his face, the family bone structure seems even sharper.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
After observing these lab grown retinas over several months, the team identified the cellular events that shape the foveola, the tiny region at the center of the retina responsible for the sharpest vision.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
But in Mbappe they have a player in his prime, at his sharpest, showing why he is one of the best finishers on the planet.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Brent crude nudged up 0.2% to $73.10 a barrel, while WTI futures rose 0.1% to $69.58 a barrel after posting their sharpest quarterly decline since early 2020 on Tuesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
The pattern was sharpest where it would matter most: Residents of agriculture-dependent regions were more likely to say ICE presence would hurt the economy.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
Tragedy turned him into one of the subtlest and sharpest satirists in American letters.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
These are some macho men of the old Southern tradition, and trying their final product usually consists of a gigantically sharped bushman’s knife hacking through a Fred Flintstone style brontosaurus size steak.
From Forbes ● Jan. 21, 2015
Hence didactic William sharped his own son out of board-money.
From Time Magazine Archive
Dickens's sentiment seldom rings perfectly true; too often it is sharped to flippancy, or flatted to mawkishness.
From Washington Irving by Boynton, Henry Walcott
A high, childish soprano voice was essaying to carry the sustained note an octave above the man's voice; once it sharped.
From Amarilly of Clothes-line Alley by Maniates, Belle Kanaris
I heerd a skreekin’, an’ screamin’, an’ screevin’, as ef all the saws in Massissippi war bein’ sharped ’ithin twenty yards o’ my ear.
From The Guerilla Chief And other Tales by Reid, Mayne
Keaton’s comeback is the result, he says, of sharping his focus.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 13, 2014
Outwardly innocent, Santana's instrumental solos are long-lined and full of musical guile, bending, flatting and sharping with something of the intricacy of Oriental music.
From Time Magazine Archive
Husky, usurious, "Doc" believed sharping made the victim sharp.
From Time Magazine Archive
With all this injustice, he is never a good case, but, like those among I men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor.
From Time Magazine Archive
Don’t ketch me sharping your sword again, if you’re going to serve me like that.”
From Crown and Sceptre A West Country Story by Nash, J.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
