Illustration of shark
- 1 mako
- 2 tiger
- 3 thresher
- 4 hammerhead
- 5 great white
: any of numerous mostly marine cartilaginous fishes of medium to large size that have a fusiform body, lateral branchial clefts, and a tough usually dull gray skin roughened by minute tubercles and are typically active predators sometimes dangerous to humans
1
: a rapacious crafty person who takes advantage of others often through usury, extortion, or devious means
loan sharks
2
: one who excels greatly especially in a particular field
sharked; sharking; sharks
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Where did jump the shark come from?
When something jumps the shark it undergoes a significant change for the worse and is on a new trajectory of unrecoverable decline. The happy days of its golden age are over.
The origin of the phrase jump the shark is tucked neatly in that previous sentence: it comes from a 1977 episode of the American TV series “Happy Days” (1974–1984) in which the program's most popular character, Fonzie, jumps over a shark while waterskiing in his trademark leather jacket. Some years later that episode came to be widely identified as marking the beginning of the iconic show's decline, and its plot device became a metaphor for similar transformations:
Nearly all TV shows ever produced have jumped the shark eventually. Such is the nature of television's creative conundrum.
— Monica Collins, Boston Herald, 9 Jan. 2000Most TV series take three seasons to jump the shark, but in the theater it can happen in 20 minutes …
— Bob Verini, Daily Variety, 18 Sept. 2009But in its headlong embrace of capitalism and corporate tie-ins, “Sex and the City” may have finally jumped the shark.
— Laura Compton, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 May 2010
The phrase is no longer limited to contexts involving entertainment; anything that undergoes a significant change for the worse that marks the start of a period of decline can be said to have "jumped the shark":
Not everyone agrees when Picasso's art jumped the shark.
— Jeffry Cudlin, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2011Silicon Valley has “jumped the shark” and lacks innovation, venture capitalist Peter Thiel says.
— Mike Murphy, MarketWatch, 1 Nov. 2018
Synonyms
Examples of shark in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Kate Gibson, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2024
Very large sharks — up to an estimated 23 feet — have been caught on submersible cameras at great depths.
—Mark Price, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
Finding Nemo: Photographer snaps shark that looks like Bruce
08 of 30
Freaky Friday (1976)
Still better than the 2003 remake, the original Freaky Friday should be mandatory watching for all teenagers and their parents.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 16 Apr. 2024
The final shot featured Perry holding a white pillow up to cover up the Kate Barton crop top that kind of looked like a heavy metal shark.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
First, there’s a realistic-looking shark with an open mouth, pointy teeth, reflective eyes, and moveable fins.
—Alida Nugent, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
And that’s where most of the natural diversity exists, from manta rays in the north to hammerhead sharks in the south.
—Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2024
Those acrylic panels include two massive ones for the Gulf of Mexico habitat: a 400,000-gallon tank that will provide an expansive view of coral reef formations, sharks, rays, sea turtles and a variety of fish.
—Michael Moore Jr., Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2024
Their diet consists of squids, sharks, skates and fish, NOAA reports.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
Timothy Bella, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Sep. 2023
In the process, the film goes from Shark Week to shark weak – from playfully amusing to just plain stupid, eliciting enough laughs in the wrong places to make an advance screening virtually interactive.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 3 Aug. 2023
Ulysse Nardin and the Lemon Shark Underscoring its commitment to shark conservation around the world, Ulysse Nardin also uses World Oceans Day to unveil its newest dive watch: the Diver Lemon Shark edition.
—Roberta Naas, Forbes, 8 June 2021
Some atolls are home to shark pupping areas and nurseries for endangered marine species.
—Emma Reynolds, Forbes, 11 Nov. 2022
Now in his 40s, Ketchum grew up in Mexico City and came late to shark science after a career as a dive master in La Paz.
—Erik Vance, Discover Magazine, 29 May 2013
Ulysse Nardin is no stranger to shark conservation.
—Roberta Naas, Forbes, 18 July 2022
Noun
Climate change a health risk for 70% of world's workers, UN warns
Climate politics and the bottom line — CBS News poll
A CBS News producer shares his surprising shark encounter
Could some species dying on Earth be saved in outer space?
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2024
Very large sharks — up to an estimated 23 feet — have been caught on submersible cameras at great depths.
—Mark Price, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
Finding Nemo: Photographer snaps shark that looks like Bruce
08 of 30
Freaky Friday (1976)
Still better than the 2003 remake, the original Freaky Friday should be mandatory watching for all teenagers and their parents.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 16 Apr. 2024
The final shot featured Perry holding a white pillow up to cover up the Kate Barton crop top that kind of looked like a heavy metal shark.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
First, there’s a realistic-looking shark with an open mouth, pointy teeth, reflective eyes, and moveable fins.
—Alida Nugent, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
And that’s where most of the natural diversity exists, from manta rays in the north to hammerhead sharks in the south.
—Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2024
Those acrylic panels include two massive ones for the Gulf of Mexico habitat: a 400,000-gallon tank that will provide an expansive view of coral reef formations, sharks, rays, sea turtles and a variety of fish.
—Michael Moore Jr., Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2024
Their diet consists of squids, sharks, skates and fish, NOAA reports.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
Verb
Gentry surveyed the land for all of the fossils present, from shells to shark teeth.
—Timothy Bella, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Sep. 2023
In the process, the film goes from Shark Week to shark weak – from playfully amusing to just plain stupid, eliciting enough laughs in the wrong places to make an advance screening virtually interactive.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 3 Aug. 2023
Ulysse Nardin and the Lemon Shark Underscoring its commitment to shark conservation around the world, Ulysse Nardin also uses World Oceans Day to unveil its newest dive watch: the Diver Lemon Shark edition.
—Roberta Naas, Forbes, 8 June 2021
Some atolls are home to shark pupping areas and nurseries for endangered marine species.
—Emma Reynolds, Forbes, 11 Nov. 2022
Now in his 40s, Ketchum grew up in Mexico City and came late to shark science after a career as a dive master in La Paz.
—Erik Vance, Discover Magazine, 29 May 2013
Ulysse Nardin is no stranger to shark conservation.
—Roberta Naas, Forbes, 18 July 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shark.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near shark
Cite this Entry
“Shark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shark. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shark
1 of 2 noun
: any of numerous marine fishes that have rough grayish skin and a skeleton made of cartilage, that usually prey on other animals and are sometimes dangerous to people, and that include some caught for the oil in their livers or for their hide from which a leather is made
shark
2 of 2 noun1
: a sly greedy person who takes advantage of others
a loan shark
2
: a person who outdoes others especially in a certain area
a shark at arithmetic
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