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• sharp
  sharp

  adjective

  having a thin cutting edge or a fine point; well-adapted for cutting or piercing.
• Sharp
  Sharp

  noun

  William Fiona Macleod, 1855?–1905, Scottish poet and critic.

sharp

¹ American  

[shahrp] / ʃɑrp /

adjective

• sharper,
  comparative
• sharpest
  superlative

1. having a thin cutting edge or a fine point; well-adapted for cutting or piercing.

   a sharp knife.

   Antonyms:

   dull

2. terminating in an edge or point; not blunt or rounded.

   The table had sharp corners.

3. involving a sudden or abrupt change in direction or course.

   a sharp curve in the road; The car made a sharp turn.

4. abrupt, as an ascent.

   a sharp drop.

5. consisting of angular lines and pointed forms or of thin, long features.

   He had a sharp face.

6. clearly defined; distinct.

   a sharp photographic image.

   Synonyms:

   clear

7. distinct or marked, as a contrast.

   sharp differences of opinion.

8. pungent or biting in taste.

   a sharp cheese.

   Synonyms:

   sour, piquant, bitter, acrid

9. piercing or shrill in sound.

   a sharp cry.

10. keenly cold, as weather.

    a sharp, biting wind.

    Synonyms:

    biting, nipping, piercing

11. felt acutely; intense; distressing.

    sharp pain.

    Synonyms:

    excruciating, severe

12. merciless, caustic, or harsh.

    sharp words.

    Synonyms:

    biting, pointed, acrimonious, acid, cutting, unmerciful

13. fierce or violent.

    a sharp struggle.

14. keen or eager.

    sharp desire.

15. quick, brisk, or spirited.

16. alert or vigilant.

    They kept a sharp watch for the enemy.

    Synonyms:

    attentive

17. mentally acute.

    a sharp lad.

    Synonyms:

    discriminating, clever, perspicacious, discerning

18. extremely sensitive or responsive; keen.

    sharp vision; sharp hearing.

19. shrewd or astute.

    a sharp bargainer.

20. shrewd to the point of dishonesty.

    sharp practice.

    Synonyms:

    deceitful, shady

21. Music.

    1. (of a tone) raised a chromatic half step in pitch.

       F sharp.

    2. above an intended pitch, as a note; too high (opposed to flat).

22. Informal. very stylish.

    a sharp dresser; a sharp jacket.

23. Radio, Electronics. of, relating to, or responsive to a very narrow range of frequencies.

24. Phonetics. fortis; voiceless.

25. composed of hard, angular grains, as sand.

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verb (used with object)

• sharps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sharped,
  past participle,  past
• sharping
  present participle

1. Music. to raise in pitch, especially by one chromatic half step.

verb (used without object)

• sharps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sharped,
  past participle,  past
• sharping
  present participle

1. to sound above the true pitch.

adverb

1. keenly or acutely.

2. abruptly or suddenly.

   to pull a horse up sharp.

3. punctually.

   Meet me at one o'clock sharp.

4. briskly; quickly.

   The horse turned sharp to the left.

5. Music. above the true pitch.

   You're singing a little sharp.

noun

• sharps
  plural

1. something sharp.

2. Usually sharps a medium-length needle with a rounded eye and a sharp point, used for all-purpose hand sewing.

3. a sharper.

4. Informal. an expert.

5. Music.

   1. a tone one chromatic half step above a given tone.

   2. (in musical notation) the symbol ♯ indicating this.

idioms

1. look sharp. look.

Sharp ² American  

[shahrp] / ʃɑrp /

noun

1. William Fiona Macleod, 1855?–1905, Scottish poet and critic.

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sharp ¹ British  

/ ʃɑːp /

adjective

1. having a keen edge suitable for cutting

2. having an edge or point; not rounded or blunt

3. involving a sudden change, esp in direction

   a sharp bend

4. moving, acting, or reacting quickly, efficiently, etc

   sharp reflexes

5. clearly defined

6. mentally acute; clever; astute

7. sly or artful; clever in an underhand way

   sharp practice

8. bitter or harsh

   sharp words

9. shrill or penetrating

   a sharp cry

10. having an acrid taste

11. keen; biting

    a sharp wind

    sharp pain

12. music

    1. (immediately postpositive) denoting a note that has been raised in pitch by one chromatic semitone

       B sharp

    2. (of an instrument, voice, etc) out of tune by being or tending to be too high in pitch Compare flat 1

13. phonetics a less common word for fortis

14. informal

    1. stylish

    2. too smart

15. involved in the area of any activity where there is most difficulty, competition, danger, etc

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adverb

1. in a sharp manner

2. exactly

   six o'clock sharp

3. music

   1. higher than a standard pitch

   2. out of tune by being or tending to be too high in pitch Compare flat 1

      she sings sharp

noun

1. music

   1. an accidental that raises the pitch of the following note by one chromatic semitone

   2. a note affected by this accidental Compare flat 1

2. a thin needle with a sharp point

3. informal a sharper

4. (usually plural) any medical instrument with sharp point or edge, esp a hypodermic needle

verb

1. Usual equivalent in Britain and certain other countries): sharpen.  (tr) music to raise the pitch of (a note), esp by one chromatic semitone

interjection

1. slang an exclamation of full agreement or approval

Sharp ² British  

/ ʃɑːp /

noun

1. Cecil ( James ). 1859–1924, British musician, best known for collecting, editing, and publishing English folk songs

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sharp More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing sharp

• keep an eye (a sharp lookout) for
• look sharp

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Synonym Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sharpness
  noun
• unsharpness
  noun
• oversharp
  adjective
• supersharp
  adjective
• ultrasharp
  adjective
• unsharp
  adjective
• unsharped
  adjective
• unsharping
  adjective
• sharply
  adverb
• unsharply
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sharps
  plural

Adjectives

• sharper
  comparative
• sharpest
  superlative

Participles

• sharping
  present
• sharped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sharp
  simple
• sharps
  simple
• have sharped
  perfect
• has sharped
  perfect
• am sharping
  progressive
• are sharping
  progressive
• is sharping
  progressive
• have been sharping
  perfect progressive
• has been sharping
  perfect progressive

Past

• sharped
  simple
• had sharped
  perfect
• was sharping
  progressive
• were sharping
  progressive
• had been sharping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sharp
  simple
• will have sharped
  perfect
• will be sharping
  progressive
• will have been sharping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of sharp

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

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sharp Sharp sharps sharper sharpest sharped sharping

Even when the tomatoes are gone and the bread stall is picked clean, you can usually find some jar of something sharp, spicy and brined: giardiniera, hot peppers, spicy dills, pickled carrots.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

In 2025, Los Angeles County health officials confirmed 220 cases — a sharp increase over the 187 cases reported in 2024.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Miller, a 41-year-old design technician for a steel company in Linn, Mo., also made a protective cap for the sharp end of his garage push broom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

He ended last season in great form high and wide on the left and looked sharp pre-season scoring a 30-yard direct free kick against Sydney FC.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

A second later a sharp whistle ripped through the air, and we both froze.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

“It’s really the worst environment that I think anyone in the field has ever seen for taking advantage of people,” said Daniel Sharp, the chief of the Los Angeles County Office of Immigrant Affairs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

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

Sharp, 50, went to the World Cup in 1998 — the last time Scotland qualified — and saw this year’s tournament as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for his son.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

Sharp little fists of fear punched my stomach from the inside.

From "The Honest Truth" by Dan Gemeinhart

It also found wall-mounted hand sanitising containers were empty and medical sharps bins were filled above capacity.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2022

In 2019, the organization installed two sharps containers in Ely, a city of fewer than 4,000 residents.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2022

They even found ways to put sharps containers out of sight, so that those who were nervous about shots weren’t fearful.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2022

If not, the sharps will be betting that Vogel doesn’t last past the All-Star break, and that’s probably right.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2021

Black keys can only be named using sharps or flats.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Economist Oliver Allen of Pantheon Macroeconomics cautioned that there could be a sharper slowdown ahead.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Americans are being encouraged to become sharper, more suspicious consumers — to read more closely, question more aggressively and demand to know what is really in their food.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Webb's high-resolution instruments now provide an even sharper look at the same object.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

“We’re optimistic that new leadership can bend the curve on traffic, but remain realistic that direct competitors have also gotten noticeably sharper, and the planned initiatives will take time to bear fruit,” he wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026

Dill wipes the water from his face and the sound of applause from the riverbank becomes sharper as the water drains from his ears.

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner

That was the sharpest drop among the top 50 metro areas, according to Redfin data.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

In the tropical Atlantic and western Pacific, blooms increased by 13.4 percent annually, with the sharpest rise in biomass beginning after 2008.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

The 30-year yield rose to 5.274%, a new 19-year high, after the sharpest one month rise since 2024.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Figures on Tuesday showed US consumer prices rose 3.5 percent last month, down from May's three-year high of 4.2 percent and the sharpest pullback in six years.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

Young heads still meake the sharpest, they do say.”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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

Then he that sharped,   And pocketed a prize by fraud obtained,   Was marked and shunned as odious.

From The Task and Other Poems by William Cowper

He sharped the razor onct," said Mrs. Lieders, "but he said it was for to shave him, and I got him to promise to let the barber shave him sometime, instead.

From Stories of a Western Town by Octave Thanet

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 Mayne Reid

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

All wandering minstrels, sharping peddlers, sturdy trulls, and other camp trumpery were ordered to pack up their baggage, and were drummed out of the gates of Alhama.

From Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada by Washington Irving

Related Words

• acute
• bright
• brilliant
• fast
• intelligent
• nimble
• quick
• slick
• smart
• subtle