sharps

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of sharp.

   The key signature added three sharps to almost every measure.

   Nurses drop all the sharps into a puncture-proof container after each procedure.

   Note

   Two quite different plurals share this spelling. In music it counts symbols or raised notes, as in a key signature with three sharps. For things that cut or pierce, including hypodermic syringes, the plural is the normal form. A nurse disposes of sharps, and almost never of a single sharp, so the word works nearly as a collective term for needles and blades.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of sharp.

   The soloist deliberately sharps the leading tone to heighten the cadence.

   Under the hot stage lights, the tenor sometimes sharps on his sustained high notes.

   Note

   The present-tense verb form follows he, she or it, and it is spelled exactly like the plural noun. A soloist sharps a note by raising it a semitone. In bargaining, someone who sharps plays tricks like a sharper. The meaning "sharpens," as with a blade, is obsolete. In current English a butcher sharpens his cleaver.

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