Sharps

[ shahrps ]

noun

1. a single-shot, lever-action breechloader rifle patented in the U.S. in 1848 and adopted by the U.S. military in the 1850s.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Sharps¹

After Christian Sharps (1811–74), U.S. gunsmith, who invented it

Example Sentences

Professional bettors, otherwise known as sharps, affect betting lines for all sports.

From Seattle Times

No one associated with the musical knows whether a show so right for pastry puns set to sharps and flats can be a hefty source of … dough.

From Washington Post

This 20th century Brazilian channeling of Bach flowed naturally from Cuong’s G sharps, leaving that impression that, while the scenery differs, the Amazon, Rhine and Mekong Delta are all rivers, and water everywhere is nourishing.

From Los Angeles Times

The old ones go into a sharps container — a sturdy plastic box — that he sends to Trac-B Exchange in Las Vegas, where they are sterilized and pulverized for safe disposal.

From Salon

Double sharps and flats are fairly rare, and triple and quadruple flats even rarer, but all are allowed.

From Literature