shark

Use shark in a sentence

A grey reef shark.

noun

The definition of a shark is a carnivorous fish in the class Chondrichthyes, or a person who is skilled at deceiving others, or is slang for a person who is an expert in a certain activity.
1. An example of a famous shark is the shark in the movie Jaws.
2. An example of a shark is a ruthless car dealer who sells a car for more than its value.
3. An example of a shark is a tough lawyer who always wins his cases.

verb

Shark is defined as to live by deceiving people.
An example of to shark is to constantly cheat people out of their money to get by.

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"shark." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHARK>.

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shark. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHARK

shark

a person who victimizes others, as by swindling or cheating
Slang a person with great ability in a given activity; adept; expert

Origin of shark

probably from German schurke, scoundrel, rogue, sharper from Middle High German schurgen, to push, mislead from Indo-European an unverified form sk?u- from base an unverified form sek-, to cut from source saw

Archaic to get or live by fraud or stratagems

any of various orders of cartilaginous fishes that are usually large and mostly marine, having a tough, spiny, usually slate-gray skin, separate lateral gill openings, and a slender, rounded body with the mouth on the underside: most sharks are fish-eaters, and some will attack humans

Origin of shark

uncertain or unknown; perhaps akin to shark

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"shark." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHARK>.

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shark. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHARK

shark

noun

Any of numerous cartilaginous fishes of the subclass Elasmobranchii that are chiefly carnivorous and marine. Sharks have a streamlined torpedolike body, five to seven gill openings on each side of the head, a large oil-filled liver, and tough skin covered with small toothlike scales.
Informal A person, such as a loan shark, who takes advantage of the misfortune of others for personal gain.
Informal A person unusually skilled in a particular activity: a card shark.

verb

sharked, shark·ing, sharks

verb

transitive Archaic

To obtain by deceitful or underhand means.

verb

intransitive

To take advantage of others for personal gain, especially by fraud and trickery.

Origin of shark

Origin unknown

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"shark." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHARK>.

APA Style

shark. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHARK

Noun

(plural sharks)

A scaleless, predatory fish of the superorder Selachimorpha, with a cartilaginous skeleton and 5 to 7 gill slits on each side of its head.
Someone who exploits others, for example by trickery, lies, usury, extortion.

Origin

First attested in the 1560s, the word meaning 'scaleless fish' is of uncertain origin: it was apparently brought to England, with a specimen, by John Hawkins. The word may derive from the Yucatec Maya xoc, or it may be an application of the "scoundrel" sense (which derives from the German Schurke (“scoundrel")) to the fish; no explanation is agreed upon.

Noun

(plural sharks)

(informal, derogatory) A sleazy and amoral lawyer; an ambulance chaser.
(informal) A relentless and resolute person or group, especially in business.
(informal) A very good poker or pool player.
(sports and games) A person who feigns ineptitude to win money from others.

Usage notes

The use of the term by people unfamiliar with pool is rarely well perceived by experienced players.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present sharks, present participle sharking, simple past and past participle sharked)

(obsolete) To steal or obtain through fraud.
(obsolete, intransitive) To play the petty thief; to practice fraud or trickery; to swindle.
(obsolete, intransitive) To live by shifts and stratagems.

Origin

From the German Schurke (“scoundrel").

Verb

(third-person singular simple present sharks, present participle sharking, simple past and past participle sharked)

(obsolete) To pick or gather indiscriminately or covertly.

Origin

Perhaps from the noun, or perhaps related to shear.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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MLA Style

"shark." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHARK>.

APA Style

shark. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHARK

shark - Medical Definition

n.

Any of numerous cartilaginous fishes of the subclass Elasmobranchii that are chiefly carnivorous and marine. Sharks have a streamlined torpedolike body, five to seven gill openings on each side of the head, a large oil-filled liver, and tough skin covered with small toothlike scales.