sharpen
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
-
to make or become sharp or sharper
-
Usual US and Canadian word: sharp. music to raise the pitch of (a note), esp by one chromatic semitone
Other Word Forms
- presharpen verb (used with object)
- resharpen verb
- sharpener noun
- unsharpened adjective
- unsharpening adjective
- well-sharpened adjective
Etymology
Origin of sharpen
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; sharp, -en 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Last month, the company halted production of gin and vodka brands at its distillery in Elgin, Aberdeenshire, in order to "sharpen" the businesses focus.
From BBC
To age is to find one’s appreciation for life’s daily joys sharpen, especially as more inconvenient realities assert themselves.
From Los Angeles Times
A common hope that the Guthries get a happier ending and the honest closeness of the “Today” crew only sharpens the tension of waiting for a break in the nearly two-week-old case.
From Salon
“These are serious times, and they call for serious people. And we have a saying among us that steel sharpens steel. We make each other better.”
From Salon
Older adults who took part in a short program designed to sharpen how quickly they process visual information were less likely to develop dementia years later.
From Science Daily
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.
