2. (Mus.) To sing above the proper pitch.
He dies upon my scimeter's sharp point. --Shak.
2. Terminating in a point or edge; not obtuse or rounded;
somewhat pointed or edged; peaked or ridged; as, a sharp
hill; sharp features.
3. Affecting the sense as if pointed or cutting, keen,
penetrating, acute: to the taste or smell, pungent, acid,
sour, as ammonia has a sharp taste and odor; to the
hearing, piercing, shrill, as a sharp sound or voice; to
the eye, instantaneously brilliant, dazzling, as a sharp
flash.
4. (Mus.)
(a) High in pitch; acute; as, a sharp note or tone.
(b) Raised a semitone in pitch; as, C sharp (C[sharp]),
which is a half step, or semitone, higher than C.
(c) So high as to be out of tune, or above true pitch; as,
the tone is sharp; that instrument is sharp. Opposed
in all these senses to {flat}.
5. Very trying to the feelings; piercing; keen; severe;
painful; distressing; as, sharp pain, weather; a sharp and
frosty air.
Sharp misery had worn him to the bones. --Shak.
The morning sharp and clear. --Cowper.
In sharpest perils faithful proved. --Keble.
6. Cutting in language or import; biting; sarcastic; cruel;
harsh; rigorous; severe; as, a sharp rebuke. ``That sharp
look.'' --Tennyson.
To that place the sharp Athenian law Can not pursue
us. --Shak.
Be thy words severe, Sharp as merits but the sword
forbear. --Dryden.
7. Of keen perception; quick to discern or distinguish;
having nice discrimination; acute; penetrating; sagacious;
clever; as, a sharp eye; sharp sight, hearing, or
judgment.
Nothing makes men sharper . . . than want.
--Addison.
Many other things belong to the material world,
wherein the sharpest philosophers have never ye?
arrived at clear and distinct ideas. --L. Watts.
8. Eager in pursuit; keen in quest; impatient for
gratification; keen; as, a sharp appetite.
9. Fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous. ``In sharp
contest of battle.'' --Milton.
A sharp assault already is begun. --Dryden.
10. Keenly or unduly attentive to one's own interest; close
and exact in dealing; shrewd; as, a sharp dealer; a sharp
customer.
The necessity of being so sharp and exacting.
--Swift.
11. Composed of hard, angular grains; gritty; as, sharp sand.
--Moxon.
12. Steep; precipitous; abrupt; as, a sharp ascent or
descent; a sharp turn or curve.
13. (Phonetics) Uttered in a whisper, or with the breath
alone, without voice, as certain consonants, such as p,
k, t, f; surd; nonvocal; aspirated.
Note: Sharp is often used in the formation of self-explaining
compounds; as, sharp-cornered, sharp-edged,
sharp-pointed, sharp-tasted, sharp-visaged, etc.
{Sharp practice}, the getting of an advantage, or the attempt
to do so, by a tricky expedient.
{To brace sharp}, or {To sharp up} (Naut.), to turn the yards
to the most oblique position possible, that the ship may
lie well up to the wind.
Syn: Keen; acute; piercing; penetrating; quick; sagacious;
discerning; shrewd; witty; ingenious; sour; acid; tart;
pungent; acrid; severe; poignant; biting; acrimonious;
sarcastic; cutting; bitter; painful; afflictive;
violent; harsh; fierce; ardent; fiery.
The head [of a spear] full sharp yground. --Chaucer.
You bite so sharp at reasons. --Shak.
2. Precisely; exactly; as, we shall start at ten o'clock
sharp. [Colloq.]
{Look sharp}, attend; be alert. [Colloq.]
If butchers had but the manners to go to sharps,
gentlemen would be contented with a rubber at cuffs.
--Collier.
2. (Mus.)
(a) The character [[sharp]] used to indicate that the note
before which it is placed is to be raised a half step,
or semitone, in pitch.
(b) A sharp tone or note. --Shak.
3. A portion of a stream where the water runs very rapidly.
[Prov. Eng.] --C. Kingsley.
4. A sewing needle having a very slender point; a needle of
the most pointed of the three grades, blunts, betweens,
and sharps.
5. pl. Same as {Middlings}, 1.
2. (Mus.) To raise above the proper pitch; to elevate the
tone of; especially, to raise a half step, or semitone,
above the natural tone.