sharper

noun

sharp·​er ˈshär-pər How to pronounce sharper (audio)
: cheat sense 2
especially : a cheating gambler

Examples of sharper in a Sentence

carnival sharpers eager to relieve the yokels of their money
Recent Examples on the Web Yet as Russian war atrocities have become more evident, and Ukraine’s need for heavy armor has increased, the lines have grown blurrier and the rhetoric sharper. David E. Sanger, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2022 Both offer blistering acceleration and sharper handling than the standard model. Eric Stafford, Car and Driver, 19 Feb. 2021 Where Super Mario 64 suffers is in its environmental textures, which don't appear to have been redrawn to look any sharper on higher-resolution screens. Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 16 Sep. 2020 For example, there is the Butch Lewis Act, which has nothing at all to do with boxing but, rather, is a bill to protect private pensions from being looted by corporate sharpers. Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 20 Jan. 2018 The payday-lending industry is a parasite on people who, for whatever reason, can’t establish themselves with the various sharpers in our mainstream banking industry. Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 17 Jan. 2018 Other sharpers were Doc Frame, Major James S. Showers and Colonel Rickett, who ran the Senate Saloon. Darryl Levings, kansascity, 26 Jan. 2018 And the aboveground economy will remain the province of the unindicted sharpers who did such a great job with it in 2008. Charles P. Pierce, SI.com, 30 Sep. 2017 The sophomore from Colleyville has been a touch sharper on field goals than Jonathan Song in the fall practices. Carlos Mendez, star-telegram, 14 Aug. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sharper.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sharper was in 1681

Dictionary Entries Near sharper

Cite this Entry

“Sharper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sharper. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

sharper

noun
sharp·​er ˈshär-pər How to pronounce sharper (audio)

More from Merriam-Webster on sharper

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!