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
Did you know?
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
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
Since then, researchers have found more than 40 instances of cancerous tumors in at least 24 shark species — including in the cartilage and on the face of a great white shark.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Apr. 2024
To that end, there are no orcas at the facility — but there are over 100,000 other creatures, including dolphins, sea lions, walruses, sharks, rays, and puffins.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 2 Apr. 2024
New funding would help the team tag more sharks and upgrade some of the transmitters, Lowe said, while continuing to educate the public on marine conservation and shark habits.
—Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Share [Findings] Veterinarians developed an ultrasound schedule for pregnant dolphins, and marine biologists discovered four new species of walking sharks and found that gray seals clap at each other to communicate underwater.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
Since the animatronic shark frequently malfunctioned on set, Jaws was forced to merely suggest the creature’s foreboding presence with ominous first-person camerawork instead of showing the killer up close.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024
The odds of being killed by a shark are 1 in 3,748,067.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 25 Mar. 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
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
Since then, researchers have found more than 40 instances of cancerous tumors in at least 24 shark species — including in the cartilage and on the face of a great white shark.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Apr. 2024
To that end, there are no orcas at the facility — but there are over 100,000 other creatures, including dolphins, sea lions, walruses, sharks, rays, and puffins.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 2 Apr. 2024
New funding would help the team tag more sharks and upgrade some of the transmitters, Lowe said, while continuing to educate the public on marine conservation and shark habits.
—Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Share [Findings] Veterinarians developed an ultrasound schedule for pregnant dolphins, and marine biologists discovered four new species of walking sharks and found that gray seals clap at each other to communicate underwater.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
Since the animatronic shark frequently malfunctioned on set, Jaws was forced to merely suggest the creature’s foreboding presence with ominous first-person camerawork instead of showing the killer up close.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024
The odds of being killed by a shark are 1 in 3,748,067.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 25 Mar. 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.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English
Noun (2)
probably modification of German Schurke scoundrel
First Known Use
Noun (1)
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Noun (2)
1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1602, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of shark was
in the 15th century
Phrases Containing shark
Dictionary Entries Near shark
Cite this Entry
“Shark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shark. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on shark
Nglish: Translation of shark for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of shark for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shark
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