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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

On board, he said the sailors likely had to battle the uncertainty of how long their deployment was going to last, while also avoiding complacency and maintaining sharp focus in a dangerous environment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

But he has since remained an elusive public figure -- often seen in a sharp black suit and sunglasses, while largely communicating through social media.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

Olver runs the menopause clinic at Aneurin Bevan's health board and said "we have definitely seen a very sharp increase in testosterone referrals from primary care - for women wanting to access it".

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

The Emmy-nominated, darkly comic thriller about a unit of disgraced British spies — starring Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden and Kristen Scott Thomas — remains sharp and propulsive, one of the best series on TV.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

The vision returned: that of Gingersnipes in Clare’s home—wearing his cloak—and he let out a low, sharp growl.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Beard, whose beats carried hits like "La Grange" and "Sharp Dressed Man," had stepped back from touring last year after suffering unspecified health issues.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

“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

Fighting jet lag back in Scotland, Sharp said his first reflection was that “the whole trip was so worthwhile.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

Because of her sharp nose and sharp glance, Beetle always thought of her as Jane Sharp.

From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman

No one associated with the musical knows whether a show so right for pastry puns set to sharps and flats can be a hefty source of … dough.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 2023

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

Using double or triple sharps or flats may seem to be making things more difficult than they need to be.

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

“We could have executed our store mix better, and by that I mean we could have been sharper on having the right goods in the right stores at the right time,” Herrman told analysts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Arsenal looked sharper, Tzolis looked incredible, Lewis-Skelly wanted to show he's fighting for his place and City looked absolutely lost, it's only the community shield but what a great show from the Arsenal!

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

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

My head ached like all the other times he had been inside of it, but the pain was sharper.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

He distilled the disagreement into the dissent’s sharpest line.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

Bukayo Saka: Looked back to his sharpest in the Community Shield last Sunday and brought that form into this game.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

European Union apparel imports fell during the first five months of the year, with those from Bangladesh recording the sharpest decline among major suppliers, Eurostat data shows.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

Here’s a look at what three of Wall Street’s sharpest minds had to say, and where they split.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

The sharpest question she had asked, “How does it feel not to have a mother?” slipped into his mind.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

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

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

Do not say: "F and C are sharped," "ti is sharped," "B is flatted," "fa is flatted."

From Music Notation and Terminology by Karl Wilson Gehrkens

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

Husky, usurious, "Doc" believed sharping made the victim sharp.

From Time Magazine Archive

Nor does he ever seem to question the various means by which he pursues his end: army desertion, card sharping, contracting a loveless marriage in order to acquire a fortune.

From Time Magazine Archive

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

She is sharping," exclaimed Gardiner, slowly; "she has to sharp very hard, my mother does.

From Fairfax and His Pride by Marie Van Vorst

Related Words

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