Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- 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.
- noun Informal A person, such as a loan shark, who takes advantage of the misfortune of others for personal gain.
- noun Informal A person unusually skilled in a particular activity.
- intransitive verb To obtain by deceitful or underhand means.
- intransitive verb To take advantage of others for personal gain, especially by fraud and trickery.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A sharper; a cheat; a greedy, dishonest fellow who eagerly preys upon others; a rapacious swindler.
- noun The sharp practice and petty shifts and stratagems of a swindler or needy adventurer.
- To play the shark or needy adventurer; live by one's wits; depend on or practise the shifts and stratagems of a needy adventurer; swindle: sometimes with an impersonal it: as, to
shark for a living. - To pick up; obtain or get together by sharking: with up or out.
- noun A selachian of the subclass Plagiostomi, of an elongate form, with the pectoral fins moderately developed, the branchial apertures lateral, and the mouth inferior (rarely terminal).
- To fish for or catch sharks.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To pick or gather indiscriminately or covertly.
- intransitive verb To play the petty thief; to practice fraud or trickery; to swindle.
- intransitive verb To live by shifts and stratagems.
- noun (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch fishes of the order Plagiostomi, found in all seas.
- noun colloq. A rapacious, artful person; a sharper.
- noun obsolete Trickery; fraud; petty rapine.
- noun See under
Basking ,Liver , etc. See alsoDogfish ,Houndfish ,Notidanian , andTope . - noun the sand shark.
- noun See
Hammerhead . - noun See
Cestraciont . - noun the eggcase of a shark; a sea purse.
- noun Same as
Angel fish (a), underAngel . - noun a large, voracious shark. See
Thrasher . - noun a huge harmless shark (
Rhinodon typicus ) of the Indian Ocean. It becomes sixty feet or more in length, but has very small teeth.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A scaleless, predatory
fish of thesuperorder Selachimorpha , with a cartilaginousskeleton and 5 to 7 gill slits on each side of its head. - noun informal, derogatory A
sleazy andamoral lawyer ; anambulance chaser . - noun informal A
relentless and resolute person or group, especially inbusiness . - noun informal A very good
poker orpool player. - noun A person who
feigns ineptitude to win money from others. - verb obsolete To steal or obtain through fraud.
- verb obsolete, intransitive To play the petty thief; to practice fraud or trickery; to
swindle . - verb obsolete, intransitive To live by
shifts andstratagems .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb play the shark; act with trickery
- noun any of numerous elongate mostly marine carnivorous fishes with heterocercal caudal fins and tough skin covered with small toothlike scales
- verb hunt shark
- noun a person who is ruthless and greedy and dishonest
- noun a person who is unusually skilled in certain ways
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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These are often removed while the shark is alive: the mutilated animal is then thrown overboard.
Back Biodiversity 100, save our wildlife George Monbiot 2010
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Named in 1884, this shark is a living representative of a primitive shark order, Hexanchiformes.
Archive 2007-01-01 2007
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The old grandfather had died in the meantime, so that he was dependent on the food supplied by his stepfather and uncles, and they had to expostulate with him on what they called his shark-like voracity.
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An Iraqi judge from 13th-century CE described sharks in the Tigris River as having eyes "like fires of blood ... all other species run away from it" and the Mayans had an ominous, killer demon known as Ah Xoc, which some have argued gave us the word shark.
The Seattle Times 2011
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If we hear the word shark .. everyone will think that it is dangerous but do you know that the dangerous kind of shark is not plenty there.
WN.com - Articles related to No more eating shark fin in Hawaii after new law 2010
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If we hear the word shark .. everyone will think that it is dangerous but do you know that the dangerous kind of shark is not plenty there.
WN.com - Articles related to No more eating shark fin in Hawaii after new law 2010
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Yes | No | Report from bailor 09 wrote 39 weeks 6 days ago thats a good one and the shark is nice too
Field & Stream 2009
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If you're in shark filled waters swimming toward land a knife is not going to help much you need your brain above all else.
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If you're in shark filled waters swimming toward land a knife is not going to help much you need your brain above all else.
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Yes | No | Report from bailor 09 wrote 39 weeks 6 days ago thats a good one and the shark is nice too
Field & Stream 2009
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That pride quickly turns to regret after the first couple runs when the not-so-bottomless powder reveals lurking knife edge rocks (known as “shark fins”) that gouge base material like a chisel.
An ode to rock skis Vince Shuley 2018
oroboros commented on the word shark
Some species of shark must continually swim to avoid asphyxiation. Something along the same lines is true of the human brain. Deprived of all inflow of sensation, it must create its own (ala John Lilly's hallucination-inducing isolation tank experimentation). "Impressions" (q.v. Gurdjieff) are "food" for the brain, grist for the mental mill.
August 24, 2007
sionnach commented on the word shark
its use as a verb (to live by fraud or trickery) may be somewhat archaic
October 28, 2007
supbob91 commented on the word shark
located in Merriam Webtster's Notebook Dictionary pg 73
September 25, 2010
bilby commented on the word shark
Having trouble with a scoundrel?
You're going to need a bigger boat.
October 20, 2015
yarb commented on the word shark
"He desired Mr. Jolter to keep his pupil out of the clutches of those sharking priests who lie in wait to make converts of all young strangers, and in a particular manner cautioned the youth against carnal conversation with the Parisian dames, who, he understood, were no better than gaudy fire-ships ready primed with death and destruction."
— Smollett, Peregrine Pickle
February 1, 2022
crist1an commented on the word shark
More information about Gurdjieff and "impressions" here - https://ggurdjieff.com/
December 1, 2022