sharpen up
phrasal verb
sharpened up; sharpening up; sharpens up
1
: to become better, smarter, more skillful, etc.
You'd better sharpen up if you want to keep your job.
2
: to improve (something)
I took a course to sharpen up my computer skills.
Examples of sharpen up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
His Grassroots Spirit Remains Many Spanish and South American players in La Liga would have sharpened up by playing futsal at a young age.
—
Henry Flynn, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
Hard cornering is flattened out by an active anti-roll system, while four-wheel steering sharpens up handling, as do the industry’s largest carbon-ceramic brakes.
—Jeremy Taylor, Robb Report, 11 June 2023
The administration has made a number of moves to sharpen up border enforcement ahead of the order’s end.
—Adam Shaw, Fox News, 10 May 2023
Henry Flynn, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
Hard cornering is flattened out by an active anti-roll system, while four-wheel steering sharpens up handling, as do the industry’s largest carbon-ceramic brakes.
—Jeremy Taylor, Robb Report, 11 June 2023
The administration has made a number of moves to sharpen up border enforcement ahead of the order’s end.
—Adam Shaw, Fox News, 10 May 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sharpen up.' 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 sharpen up
Cite this Entry
“Sharpen up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sharpen%20up. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.
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