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shark

n. · v.
US //ˈʃɑɹk// UK //ʃˈɑːk// shark
  1. 1 predatory fish (n.)
    A1 Beginner Science

    a large fish with very sharp teeth and a skeleton made of cartilage instead of bone.

    any predatory fish of the superorder Selachimorpha, characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton and multiple gill slits.

    Example

    The children were excited to see a great white shark at the aquarium.

    Example

    Marine biologists tracked the shark across the Pacific to better understand its migratory patterns and hunting grounds.
  2. 2 dishonest person (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    someone who uses tricks or dishonest methods to get money from other people.

    a person who exploits others through trickery, usury, or extortion, often in a professional context.

    Example

    Be careful with that salesman; he is a total shark and will overcharge you.

    Example

    The neighborhood was wary of the loan sharks who preyed on families struggling to make ends meet during the recession.
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  1. 3 expert or skilled person (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    a person who is very good at a specific activity, like a game or a sport.

    an individual who demonstrates exceptional skill or dominance in a particular field or competitive activity.

    Example

    Don't play cards with him unless you want to lose; he is a real pool shark.

    Example

    She became a corporate shark, quickly rising through the ranks by outmaneuvering her more experienced colleagues.
  2. 4 to exploit or trick (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic

    to act in a dishonest way to get something from someone else.

    to obtain something through fraud or to practice trickery and shifts.

    Example

    In the old story, the thief tried to shark his way into the palace.

    Example

    The protagonist spent his youth sharking for a living among the docks, surviving on whatever he could steal or swindle.
Etymology 1

From Middle English shark (used by Thomas Beckington in 1442 to refer to a kind of fish), of uncertain origin. Most likely from a semantic extension of the German-derived shark (“scoundrel”), see below. The fish was originally called a dogfish or haye in English and Middle English. Its name in Old English is unknown, although some uses of the word hranfisċ that do not appear to carry the sense of "whale" may have been referencing it. alternative theories Some older dictionaries derived the word from Latin c(h)archarias, c(h)acharus (from Ancient Greek), but admit that "the requisite [Old French] forms intermediate between E. shark and L. carcharus are not found, and it is not certain that the name [shark] was orig. applied to the fish; it may have been first used of a greedy man". Other older authorities speculated that the word might derive from Yucatec Maya xok (“fish”) (/ʃok/), as John Hawkins brought a specimen from the area where Mayan was spoken to England in the 1560s. However, the 1442 use rules out a New World origin for the word.

Etymology 2

From German Schurke (“scoundrel”); compare Dutch schurk.

Etymology 3

Probably from the "steal" senses above, but perhaps related to shear. Compare shirk.

Idioms3 entries

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