sharpen
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
-
to make or become sharp or sharper
-
Usual US and Canadian word: sharp. music to raise the pitch of (a note), esp by one chromatic semitone
Other Word Forms
- presharpen verb (used with object)
- resharpen verb
- sharpener noun
- unsharpened adjective
- unsharpening adjective
- well-sharpened adjective
Etymology
Origin of sharpen
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; sharp, -en 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their result falls within the range associated with the Hubble tension, showing the method's potential to sharpen future measurements.
From Science Daily
Last month, the company halted production of gin and vodka brands at its distillery in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, in order to "sharpen" the businesses focus.
From BBC
To take advantage of the atomic precision of this new photoresist, the light beam needs to be sharpened as well.
Borthwick has pledged to raise the bar in training to prepare the group for the showdown in Rome, with a focus on sharpening their attacking edge in opposition territory.
From BBC
The cereal shift is part of a broader effort by Target to sharpen its merchandise assortment and rebuild momentum after several uneven years marked by weaker discretionary spending and operational challenges in stores.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
