sharp

Etymology

From Middle English scharp, from Old English sċearp, from Proto-West Germanic *skarp, from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerb-, from *(s)ker- (“to cut”). Cognate with West Frisian skerp, Low German scharp, Dutch scherp, German scharf, Danish skarp. Compare Irish cearb (“keen; cutting”), Latin acerbus (“tart, bitter”), Tocharian B kärpye (“rough”), Latvian skârbs (“sharp, rough”), Russian щерба (ščerba, “notch”), Polish szczerba (“gap, dent, jag, chip, nick, notch”), Albanian harb (“rudeness”). More at shear.

adj

1. Terminating in a point or edge, especially one that can cut easily; not dull, obtuse, or rounded.
   I keep my knives sharp so that they don't slip unexpectedly while carving.
   Ernest made the pencil too sharp and accidentally stabbed himself with it.
   A face with sharp features
   If a knife which is sharp is incorrectly used it will obviously be dangerous. 1984, Michael Grater, Paper Mask Making, page 55
   Fifteen children reported handling curvos, five machetes, and one a sharp knife used to cut yellow leaves off the banana plants. 2002, Carol Pier, Tainted Harvest
   Yet, review of 25 years of English language literature on the subject of sharp force injury adds remarkably little to this topic. Sharp force covers a vast array of injuries produced with sharp objects capable of cutting or stabbing or both. 2006, Werner U. Spitz, Daniel J. Spitz, Russell S. Fisher, Spitz and Fisher's Medicolegal Investigation of Death
2. (colloquial) Intelligent.
   My nephew is a sharp lad; he can count to 100 in six languages, and he's only five years old.
   At school, despite his sharp mind, Malcolm was laughed at by teachers when he said he wanted to be a lawyer. 20 February 2015, Jesse Jackson, “In the Ferguson era, Malcolm X’s courage in fighting racism inspires more than ever”, in The Guardian (London)
3. (music) Higher than usual by one semitone (denoted by the symbol ♯ after the name of the note).
4. (music) Higher in pitch than required.
   The orchestra's third violin several times was sharp about an eighth of a tone.
5. Having an intense, acrid flavour.
   Milly couldn't stand sharp cheeses when she was pregnant, because they made her nauseated.
6. Sudden and intense.
   A pregnant woman during labor normally experiences a number of sharp contractions.
7. (colloquial) Illegal or dishonest.
   Michael had a number of sharp ventures that he kept off the books.
8. (colloquial) Keenly or unduly attentive to one's own interests; shrewd.
   a sharp dealer;  a sharp customer
   But, as they have hitherto stood, a clergyman established in a competent living is not under the necessity of being so sharp, vigilant, and exacting. 1732, Jonathan Swift, Considerations Upon Two Bills
9. Exact, precise, accurate; keen.
   You'll need sharp aim to make that shot.
   Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus.[…]A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that. Developed as a tool to electronically combine the sharpest bits of multiple digital images, focus stacking is a boon to biologists seeking full focus on a micron scale. 2013 July-August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist
10. Offensive, critical, or acrimonious.
    sharp criticism
    When the two rivals met, first there were sharp words, and then a fight broke out.
11. (colloquial) Stylish or attractive.
    You look so sharp in that tuxedo!
12. Observant; alert; acute.
    Keep a sharp watch on the prisoners. I don't want them to escape!
13. Forming a small angle; especially, forming an angle of less than ninety degrees.
    Drive down Main for three quarters of a mile, then make a sharp right turn onto Pine.
14. Steep; precipitous; abrupt.
    a sharp ascent or descent; a sharp turn or curve
15. (mathematics, of a statement) Said of as extreme a value as possible.
    Sure, any planar graph can be five-colored. But that result is not sharp: in fact, any planar graph can be four-colored. That is sharp: the same can't be said for any lower number.
16. (chess) Tactical; risky.
    Time and time again, the amateur player has lost the opportunity to make the really best move because he felt bound to follow some chess "rule" he had learned, rather than to make the sharp move which was indicated by the position. 1963, Max Euwe, Chess Master Vs. Chess Amateur, page xviii
    In such situations most chess players choose the obvious and logical way: they go in for sharp play. However, not everyone is a natural attacking player[…] 1975, Luděk Pachman, Decisive Games in Chess History, page 64
17. Piercing; keen; severe; painful.
    a sharp pain; the sharp and frosty winter air
    The night was Winter in his roughest mood; the morning sharp and clear. 1785, William Cowper, The Task: The Winter Walk at Noon
    In sharpest perils faithful proved, Let his soul love thee to the end. 1867, John Keble, “St. Peter's Release”, in J.G.Holland, editor, Christ and the Twelve: Scenes and Events in the Life of Our Saviour and His Apostles, page 424
18. Eager or keen in pursuit; impatient for gratification.
    a sharp appetite
19. (obsolete) Fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous.
    And fear of God, from whom their piety feign'd In sharp contest of battle found no aid Against invaders 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost
    A sharp assault already is begun; 1665, John Dryden, The Indian Emperor: Act III
20. Composed of hard, angular grains; gritty.
    Well-burnt good lime and sharp sand, if very sharp, a load of sand (about 36 bushels) to a hundred of lime (being 25 bushels, or a hundred pecks[…] 1700, Edward Moxon, Mechanical Exercises
21. (phonetics, dated) Uttered in a whisper, or with the breath alone; aspirated; unvoiced.
22. (obsolete) Hungry.
    “[W]hy this last week we ha'n't had nothing at all but some dry musty red herrings; so you may think, Miss, we're kept pretty sharp!” 1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, II.iii.1

adv

1. To a point or edge; piercingly; eagerly; sharply.
   The iron plates rang sharp, but turn'd the spear 1853, Matthew Arnold, Sohrab and Rustum
2. (not comparable) Exactly.
   I'll see you at twelve o'clock sharp.
   1 September 2020, Tom Lamont, “Open at 9am sharp, Frank had waited until 11.30am for his first visitor of the day – and here I came, not with an empty shopping basket, but a reporter’s notebook.”, in The Guardian:
3. (music) In a higher pitch than is correct or desirable.
   I didn't enjoy the concert much because the tenor kept going sharp on the high notes.

noun

1. (music) The symbol ♯, placed after the name of a note in the key signature or before a note on the staff to indicate that the note is to be played a semitone higher.
   The pitch pipe sounded out a perfect F♯ (F sharp).
   Transposition frequently is harder to read because of all the sharps and flats on the staff.
2. (music) A note that is played a semitone higher than usual; denoted by the name of the note that is followed by the symbol ♯.
3. (music) A note that is sharp in a particular key.
   The piece was difficult to read after it had been transposed, since in the new key many notes were sharps.
4. (music) The scale having a particular sharp note as its tonic.
   Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" is written in C♯ minor (C sharp minor.)
5. (usually in the plural) Something that is sharp.
   1. (medicine) A hypodermic syringe.
   2. (medicine, dated) A scalpel or other edged instrument used in surgery.
   3. (psychiatry, healthcare) A sharp object; any item pointed enough to injure human skin.
6. A dishonest person; a cheater.
   The casino kept in the break room a set of pictures of known sharps for the bouncers to see.
   This usage is often classified as variant spelling of shark, and unrelated to the 'pointed' or 'cutting' meanings of sharp.
7. Part of a stream where the water runs very rapidly.
   here are good fish to be picked out of sharps and stop-holes into the water-tables 1858, Charles Kingsley, “Chalk Stream Studies”, in Fraser's Magazine
8. A sewing needle with a very slender point, more pointed than a blunt or a between.
9. (in the plural) Fine particles of husk mixed with coarse particle of flour of cereals; middlings.
   While he worked he talked to his ducks, who were waddling about hopefully, as it was almost time for the red bucket to be filled with sharps and potato-peelings. 1954, Barbara Comyns, Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead, Dorothy, published 2010, page 21
10. (slang, dated) An expert.
11. A sharpie (member of Australian gangs of the 1960s and 1970s).
    The Circle was one of the few dances the older sharps frequented; mostly they were to be found in pubs, pool-halls or at the track. 2006, Iain McIntyre, Tomorrow Is Today: Australia in the Psychedelic Era, 1966-1970

verb

1. (music) To raise the pitch of a note half a step making a natural note a sharp.
   That new musician must be tone deaf: he sharped half the notes of the song!
2. To play tricks in bargaining; to act the sharper.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To sharpen.