shark
Pluralsharks
Pluralsharks
Formssharks, sharking, sharked
- 1A meat-eating fish, mostly found in the sea, whose skeleton is made of bendy material, not hard bone.
Its skeleton bends more like the firm tip of your nose than like hard bone.
A shark circled the boat for nearly an hour.
Several sharks gathered where the fishing boats dumped their scraps.
Note
- 2A person who cheats or robs others to take their money or things.
Like a hunter who preys on people instead of animals.
That shark tricked dozens of families out of their savings.
Once they trusted him, the shark drained their accounts dry.
UsageA loan shark lends money at very high interest.
Similarswindler, crook, fraudster, cheat
Note
- 3A person, often in business or law, who is hard, greedy, and willing to hurt others to win.
Like someone who keeps moving toward a goal and never lets up.
She's a real shark when it comes to closing deals.
Their sales team is full of sharks who never stop pushing.
UsageSay she is a real shark at business.
- 4A very good player, especially at pool or cards, who wins money from weaker players, or any expert.
Like the best player in the room that others are afraid to face.
Everyone at the table knew he was a shark after three hands.
Don't play pool for money against a shark like her.
UsageSay card shark or pool shark.
- 5Meat from a shark, prepared and eaten as food.
We grilled fresh shark with lemon and garlic.
In some coastal towns, shark is a common dinner dish.
UsageSay grilled shark, not a shark, for the food.
Less common meanings
- 6A player who pretends to be bad so others bet money and lose.
Like someone who plays dumb to trick others into a bet.
The shark played badly on purpose until we bet more money.
Watch out for the shark who loses small, then bets big.
UsageA hustler is the same kind of player.
Similarhustler
Note
- 7A river or lake fish that looks or moves like a shark but is not a true shark.
We bought a little shark for our freshwater fish tank.
Our rainbow shark chases the other fish away from its favorite cave.
Note
- 8To go out fishing in order to catch sharks.
My uncle took us sharking off the pier last summer.
Dad and I went sharking at night and caught a small one.
Note
- 9An old word meaning to steal small things or cheat others, sometimes as a way of making a living.
Neither sharks for a cup or a reckoning.
1628, John Earle, MicrocosmographyHere, sharks means lives by cheating or tricking people.Note
- 10An old word meaning to steal or get things by cheating, or gather them secretly or without choosing carefully.
Note
- 11A fish with a soft, bendy skeleton, including ancient shark-like kinds that died out long ago.
- 12A large gray moth that flies at night and has long, narrow wings that give it a sleek shape.
- 13An older student who regularly has sex with first-year students.
- 14For an older college student, to look for or have sex with first-year students.
- 15To bother another player on purpose in games like pool, by talking, moving, or slowing the game, so they play badly.
Showing meanings only.
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Origins
An English word first used in 1442 for a kind of fish. Where it really comes from is not certain.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The English word is first attested in 1442 for a kind of fish. en.wiktionary.org
- The word's origin is uncertain. en.wikipedia.org
From German Schurke, meaning "scoundrel".
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Shark in this sense derives from German Schurke. en.wiktionary.org
- German Schurke means scoundrel. en.wiktionary.org