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
Examples of shark in a Sentence
Noun (2)
a card shark
a shark at calculus
being a new arrival in Hollywood, she was easy prey for the sharks in the movie business
Recent Examples on the Web
The Week Us, TheWeek, 9 Mar. 2026
Mabel befriends dam-building King George (Bobby Moynihan), runs afoul of an insect queen (Meryl Streep) and meets a ton of critters, from an emoji-loving lizard to a professional killer-for-hire shark.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 8 Mar. 2026
Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 4 July 2025
The latest Shark Tank shark speaks about entrepreneurship and sharking
💼 Amazon and 5 other major companies that have ditched remote work
SURPRISING DISCOVERIES
Taylor Swift fans are rowdier than Real Madrid’s.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 19 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for shark
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Noun
At one point there’s a car chase that involves a flying shark.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 9 Mar. 2026
Mabel befriends dam-building King George (Bobby Moynihan), runs afoul of an insect queen (Meryl Streep) and meets a ton of critters, from an emoji-loving lizard to a professional killer-for-hire shark.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 8 Mar. 2026
Verb
Netflix dominates pretty much all things TV, so why should shark content be any different?
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 4 July 2025
The latest Shark Tank shark speaks about entrepreneurship and sharking
💼 Amazon and 5 other major companies that have ditched remote work
SURPRISING DISCOVERIES
Taylor Swift fans are rowdier than Real Madrid’s.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 19 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for shark
Cite this Entry
“Shark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shark. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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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