sharpen
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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sharpens,
present (3rd person singular)
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sharpened,
past participle, past
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sharpening
present participle
verb
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to make or become sharp or sharper
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Usual US and Canadian word: sharp. music to raise the pitch of (a note), esp by one chromatic semitone
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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sharpenernoun
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resharpenverb
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presharpenverb (used with object)
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unsharpenedadjective
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unsharpeningadjective
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well-sharpenedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sharpensimple
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sharpenssimple
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have sharpenedperfect
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has sharpenedperfect
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am sharpeningprogressive
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are sharpeningprogressive
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is sharpeningprogressive
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have been sharpeningperfect progressive
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has been sharpeningperfect progressive
Past
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sharpenedsimple
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had sharpenedperfect
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was sharpeningprogressive
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were sharpeningprogressive
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had been sharpeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sharpen
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at 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.
See Examples For:
"Our findings suggest fear may blur the boundary between danger and safety rather than sharpen it," said senior author Mark Brandon, Associate Professor in McGill's Department of Psychiatry and Researcher at the Douglas.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2026
Students, vying for the class, expressed the urge to be forced to tackle classics, sharpen their attention spans and think for themselves in the age of AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Instead, she said, governments should "look very carefully into the measures they're putting in place" and "sharpen the targeting of this support".
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
"I've brought over the man who repairs bicycles in Wolvercote, people who repair sewing, people who do computers, who sharpen knives."
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
At the mention of the word “champions,” the attentiveness of the listening students seemed to sharpen.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
The company said the deal sharpens its focus and capital allocation in the U.S., where it is continuing to invest in 5G and fiber networks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
“It’s the epitome of iron sharpens iron,” Adams said when asked about McDuffie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
Their crunch interrupts the softness of the turkey, cheese and sauces; their salt seasons the sandwich; and their pucker sharpens the lemon mayo and smoky-sweet romesco.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
That contrast sharpens Rotterdam's concern about losing energy intensive industry to regions with looser rules and cheaper power.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
I’m sure I said it right, but the butcher sharpens his face, slams down our meat, and motions us away.
From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai
“For her, it sharpened some sense of empathy and curiosity about people.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
If their interpretation is correct, the injury may provide the first evidence that sharpened wooden spears were used in the prehistoric Middle East.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
The barb on Mr. King’s hook, sharpened by Mr. Flanagan, is how Carrie’s buoyant expectations, and ours, are so gleefully perforated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The knives were being sharpened on Maresca after a Community Shield humbling by Mikel Arteta's Gunners in August but City have responded in superb fashion with seven straight victories in all competitions.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
It was bad enough, she said, to find a snake in the pencil sharpener, but then she almost sharpened it by mistake.
From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson
The tone over the Falkland Islands dispute has been sharpening in Argentina from well before President Javier Milei's late-night national address on sanctions earlier this week.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
She did this countless times across her decades of unwavering support for the queer community, softening and sharpening her humor according to the severity of whatever topic she waded into.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
The sharpening positions leave them without a clear framework for restarting talks, they said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
They are relying more heavily on their networks, learning how to use AI and sharpening their communication skills and personal qualities — such as coachability, curiosity and reliability — to find work and stay employed.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
After a couple of minutes he settled outside the Waystone, set up his sharpening wheel and began to grind a knife.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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