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Sharp vs Shark - What's the difference?

sharp | shark |

As a proper noun sharp

is .

As a noun shark is

a scaleless, predatory fish of the superorder selachimorpha, with a cartilaginous skeleton and 5 to 7 gill slits on each side of its head or shark can be (informal|derogatory) a sleazy and amoral lawyer; an ambulance chaser.

As a verb shark is

(obsolete) to steal or obtain through fraud or shark can be (obsolete) to pick or gather indiscriminately or covertly.

sharp

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Able to cut easily.
  • :
  • *
  • *:Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.
  • (lb) Intelligent.
  • :
  • * {{quote-news, author=(Jesse Jackson), title=In the Ferguson era, Malcolm X’s courage in fighting racism inspires more than ever, work=(The Guardian) (London), date=20 February 2015 citation
    • , passage=At school, despite his sharp mind, Malcolm was laughed at by teachers when he said he wanted to be a lawyer. }}
  • Terminating in a point or edge; not obtuse or rounded.
  • :
  • :
  • (lb) Higher than usual by one semitone (denoted by the symbol after the name of the note).
  • (lb) Higher in pitch than required.
  • :
  • Having an intense, acrid flavour.''
  • :
  • Sudden and intense.
  • :
  • *
  • *:She wakened in sharp panic, bewildered by the grotesquerie of some half-remembered dream in contrast with the harshness of inclement fact.
  • (lb) Illegal or dishonest.
  • :
  • (lb) Keenly or unduly attentive to one's own interests; shrewd.
  • :
  • *(Jonathan Swift) (1667–1745)
  • *:the necessity of being so sharp and exacting
  • Exact, precise, accurate; keen.
  • :
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Catherine Clabby
    • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= Focus on Everything , passage=Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus.
  • Offensive, critical, or acrimonious.
  • :
  • (lb) Stylish or attractive.
  • :
  • Observant; alert; acute.
  • :
  • Forming a small angle; forming an angle of less than ninety degrees.
  • :
  • *1900 , , (The House Behind the Cedars) , Chapter I,
  • *:The street down which Warwick had come intersected Front Street at a sharp angle in front of the old hotel, forming a sort of flatiron block at the junction, known as Liberty Point
  • Steep; precipitous; abrupt.
  • :
  • Said of as extreme a value as possible.
  • :
  • (lb) Tactical; risky.
  • *1963 , Max Euwe, Chess Master Vs. Chess Amateur (page xviii)
  • *: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.
  • *1975 , Lud?k Pachman, Decisive Games in Chess History (page 64)
  • *:In such situations most chess players choose the ohvious and logical way: they go in for sharp play. However, not everyone is a natural attacking player
  • Piercing; keen; severe; painful.
  • :
  • *(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • *:Sharp misery had worn him to the bones.
  • *(William Cowper) (1731-1800)
  • *:the morning sharp and clear
  • *(John Keble) (1792-1866)
  • *:in sharpest perils faithful proved
  • Eager or keen in pursuit; impatient for gratification.
  • :
  • (lb) Fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous.
  • *(John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • *:in sharp contest of battle
  • *(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • *:A sharp assault already is begun.
  • Composed of hard, angular grains; gritty.
  • :
  • :(Edward Moxon)
  • Uttered in a whisper, or with the breath alone; aspirated; unvoiced.

    • Synonyms

    * (able to cut easily) keen, razor, razor-sharp * (intelligent) brainy, bright, intelligent, keen, smart, witty * (able to pierce easily) pointed * (having an intense and acrid flavour) acrid, pungent * (sudden and intense) abrupt, acute, stabbing * dishonest, dodgy, illegal, illicit, underhand * (accurate) accurate, exact, keen, precise * (critical) acrimonious, bitter, cutting, harsh, hostile, nasty * chic, elegant, smart, stylish * (observant) acute, alert, keen, observant, sharp-eyed

    Antonyms

    * (able to cut easily) blunt, dull * (intelligent) dim, dim-witted, slow, slow-witted, thick * (able to pierce easily) blunt * (higher than usual by one semitone) flat * flat * (having an intense and acrid flavour) bland, insipid, tasteless * (sudden and intense) dull * above-board, honest, legit, legitimate, reputable * (accurate) inaccurate, imprecise * (critical) complimentary, flattering, friendly, kind, nice * inelegant, scruffy, shabby * (observant) unobservant

    Derived terms

    * not the sharpest knife in the drawer * sharpish * sharply * sharp-witted

    Adverb

    (er)
  • To a point or edge; piercingly; eagerly; sharply.
  • * Shakespeare
    • You bite so sharp at reasons.
  • (notcomp) Exactly.
    • I'll see you at twelve o'clock sharp .
  • (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.

    Synonyms

    * (exactly) exactly, on the dot (of time), precisely

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (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.
  • (music) A note that is played a semitone higher than usual; denoted by the name of the note that is followed by the symbol ?.
  • (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 .
  • (music) The scale having a particular sharp note as its tonic.
    • Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" is written in C? minor (C sharp minor.)
  • (usually, in the plural) Something that is sharp.
    • Place sharps in the specially marked red container for safe disposal.
  • A sharp tool or weapon.
  • * Collier
    • If butchers had but the manners to go to sharps , gentlemen would be contented with a rubber at cuffs.
  • (medicine) A hypodermic syringe.
  • (medicine, dated) A scalpel or other edged instrument used in surgery.
  • A dishonest person; a cheater.
    • The casino kept in the break room a set of pictures of known sharps for the bouncers to see.
  • Part of a stream where the water runs very rapidly.
    • (Charles Kingsley)
  • A sewing needle with a very slender point, more pointed than a blunt or a between.
  • (in the plural) middlings
  • (slang, dated) An expert.
  • A sharpie (member of Australian gangs of the 1960s and 1970s).
  • * 2006 , Iain McIntyre, Tomorrow Is Today: Australia in the Psychedelic Era, 1966-1970
    • 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.

    Derived terms

    * card sharp * double sharp

    See also

    * (music) accidental, flat, natural *

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (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!
  • To play tricks in bargaining; to act the sharper.
    • (rfquotek, L'Estrange)

    Anagrams

    * harps 1000 English basic words

    shark

    English

    (wikipedia shark) (Selachimorpha)

    Etymology 1

    First attested in the 1560s, the word meaning 'scaleless fish' is of uncertain origin: it was apparently brought to England, with a specimen, by . The word may derive from the (etyl) xoc, or it may be an application of the "scoundrel" sense (which derives from the German ) to the fish; no explanation is agreed upon.[http://www.languagehat.com/archives/002843.php]

    Alternative forms

    * sharke (obsolete )

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A scaleless, predatory fish of the superorder Selachimorpha, with a cartilaginous skeleton and 5 to 7 gill slits on each side of its head.
  • * 1569', ''The true discripcion of this marueilous straunge Fishe, whiche was taken on Thursday was sennight, the xvi. day of June, this present month, in the yeare of our Lord God, M.D.lxix.'', a broadside printed in London, the earliest known use of the term; reprinted in ''A Collection of Seventy-Nine Black-Letter Ballads and Broadsides: printed in the reigh of Queen Elizabeth, between the years 1559 and 1597'' in ' 1867 :
    • The straunge fishe is in length xvij. foote and iij. foote broad, and in compas about the bodie vj. foote; and is round snowted, short headdid, hauing iij. rankes of teeth on either iawe, [...]. Also it hath v. gills of eache side of the head, shoing white. Ther is no proper name for it that I know, but that sertayne men of Captayne Haukinses doth call it a sharke .
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 13, author=AP, work=The Guardian
    • , title= Man 'surfs' great white shark , passage=He said he had spoken to a woman who was kayaking off Catalina Island, California, in 2008 when a shark' slammed her kayak from underneath and sent her flying into the air. She then landed on the back of the '''shark''', Collier said. "At that point the ' shark started to swim out to sea, so she jumped off its back," Collier said.}}
  • Someone who exploits others, for example by trickery, lies, usury, extortion.
  • * , chapter=7
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=“[…] Churchill, my dear fellow, we have such greedy sharks , and wolves in lamb's clothing. Oh, dear, there's so much to tell you, so many warnings to give you, but all that must be postponed for the moment.”}}
    Synonyms
    * (scaleless cartilaginous fish) (l) (obsolete)
    Derived terms
    (shark and related fish species) * angel shark, angelshark * basking shark * bramble shark * bull shark * bullhead shark * bonnethead shark * carpetshark * catshark, cat shark * cookiecutter shark * cow shark * frilled shark * goblin shark * great white shark * Greenland shark * ground shark * gummyshark, gummy shark * hammerhead shark * hound shark, houndshark * lantern shark, lanternshark * lemon shark * leopard shark * mackerel shark * mako shark * nurse shark * requiem shark * sand shark * saw shark, sawshark * sleepershark * swellshark * thresher shark * tiger shark * weasel shark * whale shark * white shark

    See also

    * dogfish * hammerhead * porbeagle * smooth-hound * thresher * white pointer

    Etymology 2

    From the (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (informal, derogatory) A sleazy and amoral lawyer; an ambulance chaser.
  • (informal) A relentless and resolute person or group, especially in business.
  • (informal) A very good poker or pool player.
  • (sports, and, games) A person who feigns ineptitude to win money from others.
    • Synonyms
    * (player who feigns ineptitude to win money) hustler
    Usage notes
    * The use of the term by people unfamiliar with pool is rarely well perceived by experienced players.
    Derived terms
    (shark) * card shark * loan shark * pool shark * shark bait * sharklike * sharkskin

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To steal or obtain through fraud.
  • (obsolete) To play the petty thief; to practice fraud or trickery; to swindle.
  • * Bishop Earle
    • Neither sharks for a cup or a reckoning.
  • (obsolete) To live by shifts and stratagems.
    • (Beaumont and Fletcher)
    Derived terms
    * shirk

    Etymology 3

    Perhaps from the noun, or perhaps related to shear.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To pick or gather indiscriminately or covertly.
  • * Shakespeare, Hamlet I.i.
    • Fortinbras Sharked up a list of lawless resolutes.

    Anagrams

    * *

    References

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