Sharps

American  

[shahrps] / ʃɑrps /

noun

1. a single-shot, lever-action breechloader rifle patented in the U.S. in 1848 and adopted by the U.S. military in the 1850s.

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Etymology

Origin of Sharps

After Christian Sharps (1811–74), U.S. gunsmith, who invented it

Example Sentences

Sharps enlisted Hutchinson and Brave New World — which had staged “A View From the Bridge” and “On the Waterfront” on the barge before — for a reading of “The Hook” in 2019.

From New York Times • Jun. 9, 2023

Tanardo Sharps spent last football season rather content.

From Washington Post • Nov. 4, 2022

"If the soil and growing conditions are suitable," Sharps said, "subsistence farmers may consider growing more millet."

From Reuters • Aug. 31, 2022

"I wrap it up to keep the air out of it," she said, pulling back the cling film plastic wrapping, to reveal a Sharps label on top of the box.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2022

Sharps and flats used to notate music in these traditions should not be assumed to mean a change in pitch equal to an equal-temperament half-step.

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