sharpen
[ shahr-puh n ]
/ ˈʃɑr pən /
verb (used with or without object)
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for sharpen
British Dictionary definitions for sharpen
sharpen
/ (ˈʃɑːpən) /
verb
to make or become sharp or sharper
music to raise the pitch of (a note), esp by one chromatic semitoneUsual US and Canadian word: sharp
Derived Formssharpener, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for sharpen
sharpen
1520s, "bring to an edge or point," from sharp (adj.) + -en (1). Related: Sharpened; sharpening. Old English verb scearpian meant "to score, scarify;" cf. scearpung "scarifying." To sharpen (one's) pencil "prepare to get to work" is from 1957, American English.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper