Adjective

1. Able to cut easily.

   I keep my knives sharp so that they don't slip unexpectedly while carving.

2. Intelligent.

   My nephew is a sharp lad; he can count to 100 in six languages, and he's only five years old.

3. Able to pierce easily; pointed.

   Ernest made the pencil too sharp and accidentally stabbed himself with it.

4. Higher than usual by one semitone (denoted by the name of the note followed by the symbol ♯).
5. Higher in pitch than required.
   • The orchestra's third violin several times was sharp about an eighth of a tone.
6. Having an intense, acrid flavour.
   • Milly couldn't stand sharp cheeses when she was pregnant, because they made her nauseated.
7. Something sudden and intense.

   1860 Thoreau, Henry David, journal entry, July 9, 1860. From Thoreau on Birds: notes on New England birds from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau, Boston: Beacon Press, 1993, p239. (Originally published as Thoreau's bird-lore, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1910, edited by Francis H. Allen.)

   • There is a smart shower at 5 P.M., and in the midst of it a hummingbird is busy about the flowers in the garden, unmindful of it, though you would think that each drop that struck him would be a serious accident.

   • A pregnant woman during labor normally experiences a number of sharp contractions.
8. Illegal or dishonest.
   • Michael had a number of sharp ventures that he kept off the books.
9. Exact, precise, accurate; keen.

   You'll need sharp aim to make that shot.

10. Offensive, critical, or acrimonious, as sharp criticism.

    When the two rivals met, first there were sharp words, and then a fight broke out.

11. 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!

Synonyms

keen, razor, razor-sharp brainy, bright, intelligent, keen, smart, witty pointed acrid, pungent abrupt, acute, stabbing dishonest, dodgy, illegal, illicit, underhand accurate, exact, keen, precise acrimonious, bitter, cutting, harsh, hostile, nasty chic, elegant, smart, stylish acute, alert, keen, observant, sharp-eyed

Antonyms

blunt, dull dim, dim-witted, slow, slow-witted, thick blunt flat flat bland, insipid, tasteless dull above-board, honest, legit, legitimate, reputable inaccurate, imprecise complimentary, flattering, friendly, kind, nice inelegant, scruffy, shabby unobservant

Adverb

1. Exactly.

   I'll see you at twelve o'clock sharp.

2. 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. 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. A note that is played a semitone higher than usual; denoted by the name of the note that is followed by the symbol ♯.
3. 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. The scale having a particular sharp note as its tonic.
   • Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" is written in C♯ minor (C sharp minor.)
5. Something which is sharp; usually used in the plural.
   • Place sharps in the specially marked red container for safe disposal.
6. A hypodermic needle.
7. A scalpel or other edged instrument used in surgery.
8. A dishonest person; a cheater.

   The casino kept in the break room a set of pictures of known sharps for the bouncers to see.

Verb

1. 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!