Having a fine cutting edge or point; acute; keen: opposed to blunt; as, a sharp sword; a sharp needle.Terminating in a point or peak; peaked: opposed to obtuse, blunt, or rounded; as, a sharp roof; a sharp ridge.Clean-cut; well-defined; distinct: opposed to blurred, misty, or hazy; specifically, in optics and photography, perfectly focused.Abrupt; of acute angle; as, a sharp turn of the road: said also of the yards of a square-rigged vessel when they are braced at the most, acute angle with the keel.Angular and hard; not rounded: as, sharp sand.Angular; having the bones prominent, as in emaciation or leanness: as, a sharp visage.Keenly affecting the organs of sense.Shrill or piercing in sound; as, a sharp voice.Keenly cold; piercing; biting; severe; as, a sharp frost; sharp weather.Intensely bright.Cutting; acrimonious; keen; severe; harsh; biting: us, sharp words; a sharp rebuke.Stern; rigid; exacting.Severe; intense: violent; impetuous; fierce; as, a sharp struggle or contest.Poignant; painful or distressing; afflictive; as, a sharp fit of the gout; a sharp tribulation.Acute; quick; keen; strong; noting the senses of sight and hearing; as, a sharp eye; a sharp ear.Vigilant; attentive; as, to keep a sharp lookout for thieves or for danger.Acute of mind; keen-witted; of quick or great discernment; shrewd; keen: as, a sharp man.Keenly alive to one's interests; quick to see favorable circumstances and turn them to advantage; keen in business; hence, barely honest; “smart”: applied to both persons and things: as, sharp practices.Disposed to say cutting things; sarcastic.Subtle; nice; witty; acute: said of things.Eager or keen, as in pursuit or quest.Keenly contested: as, a sharp race.Quick; speedy: as, a sharp walk; sharp work.In phonetics, noting a consonant pronounced or uttered with breath and not with voice; surd; non-vocal: as, the sharp mutes, p, t, k.In music:Of tones, above a given or intended pitch: as, a piano is sharp.Of intervals, either major or augmented: as, a sharp third (a major third); a sharp fifth (an augmented fifth).Of keys or tonalities, having sharps in the signature: as, the key of D is a sharp key.Of organ-stops, noting mutation- or mixture-stops that give shrill tones. Opposed to flat in all senses but the last.Synonyms Sharp, Keen, Acute. Sharp is the general word, and is applicable to edges, long or short, coarse or fine, or to points. Keen is a strong word, and applies to long edges, as of a dagger, sword, or knife, not to points. Acute is not very often used to express sharpness; when used, it applies to a long, fine point, as of a needle.Biting, pungent, hot, stinging, piquant, highly seasoned.Nipping. Poignant, intense.Astute, discerning, quick, ready, sagacious, cunning.Caustic, tart.n. A pointed weapon; especially, a small sword; a dueling-sword, as distinguished from a blunted or buttoned foil: as, he fences better with foils than with sharps.n. plural One of the three usual grades of sewing-needles, the others being blunts and betweens. The sharps are the longest and most keenly pointed.n. A sharper; a shark.n. An expert; as, a mining sharp.n. plural The hard parts of wheat, which require grinding a second time: same as middlings. See middling, n., 3.n. A part of a stream where the water runs very rapidly.n. An acute or shrill sound.n. In music:n. A tone one half-step above a given tone: as, the sharp of F (that is, F sharp).n. On the pianoforte, with reference to any given key, the key next above or to the right. See flat, n., 7 .n. In musical notation, the character ♯, which when attached to a note or staff-degree raises its significance one half-step. Opposed to flat in all senses.n. A sharp consonant. See I., 18.n. In diamond-cutting, the edge of the quadrant when an octahedral diamond is cleft into four parts.n. A kind of boat used by oystermen. Also sharpie, sharpy.n. A tone two half-steps higher than a given tone; the sharp of a sharp.n. On the pianoforte, a key next but, one above or to the right of a given key.n. The character ×, which when attached to a note or to a staff-degree raises its significance two half-steps.To sharpen; make keen or acute.In music, to elevate (a tone); specifically, to apply a sharp to (a note or staff-degree)—that is, to elevate it a half-step. Also sharpen.To indulge in sharp practices; play the sharper; cheat.In music, to sing or play above the true pitch. Also sharpen.Sharply.Quickly.Exactly; to the moment; not a minute later.In music, above the true pitch: as, to sing sharp.n. The tone given by such a key, or a tone in unison with such a tone: the D sharp next above middle C has (at French pitch) about 308 vibrations per second.n. The staff-degree assigned to such a key or tone, being the same as that for D, but with a sharp upon it either in the signature or as an accidental.n. A note placed on such a degree and indicating such a key or tone.n. The key-note of the minor key of six sharps (D sharp minor).n. In the fixed system of solmization, the sharp of the second tone of the scale, technically named ri.n. The tone given by such a key, or a tone in unison with such a tone: the G sharp next above middle C has (at French pitch) about 411 vibrations per second.n. The staff-degree assigned to such a key or tone, being the same as that for G, but with a ♮ upon it either in the signature or as an accidental.n. A note placed on such a degree and indicating such a key or tone.n. The keynote of the minor key of five sharps (G sharp minor).n. In the fixed system of solmization, the sharp of the fifth tone of the scale, technically named si (not to be confounded with the same syllable when used for the seventh tone).
