Sharp

How to spell sharp

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce sharp

What does sharp mean?

1. adjectiveHaving a fine cutting edge or point, or being keen, sudden, or intense.
2. nounA musical note raised by one semitone, or the symbol that indicates this.
3. adverbExactly at a stated time, or in a sudden, abrupt manner.

Sharp in a sentence

• adjective

  The kitchen knife was so sharp that it sliced the tomato cleanly.

• noun

  The composer wrote a sharp before the note to raise its pitch.

• adverb

  The meeting will begin at nine o'clock sharp, so do not be late.

• adjective

  A sharp pain shot through his shoulder when he lifted the box.

• noun

  She struggled to play the sharp accurately on the piano.

• adverb

  The road turned sharp to the left just past the bridge.

Where does sharp come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Sharp is a thoroughly native English word, descending from the Old English 'scearp', which already carried the sense of 'having a fine cutting edge' and, figuratively, 'keen or quick-witted'. It belongs to a broad Germanic family, sitting alongside the German 'scharf' and the Dutch 'scherp', all traced back to a shared root that meant something like 'to cut' or 'to scrape'. The same cutting idea links it to the old verb 'to shear', and the connection to scraping helps explain why the word so naturally extended to sharp tastes, sharp sounds, and sharp minds. The musical sense, a note raised by a semitone, grew up much later from the idea that such a note sounds higher and more piercing. Because the spelling has stayed close to its Old English form, with the 'sc' simplifying to 'sh', it is one of those rare words that gives the modern speller almost no trouble.

How the word is built

• sharp (a single native root meaning 'cutting, keen'); no prefix or suffix in the base form