sharpen

«sharpen» in Mova's judaism dictionary: to make its edge or point sharper, like sharpening a… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (sharpen, sharpens, sharpened, sharpening)

meaning for a pupil

1) To sharpen something is to make its edge or point sharper, like sharpening a pencil or a knife. tree →

2) To sharpen a skill is to make it better by practice. tree →

3) When a picture, sound or feeling sharpens, it becomes clearer or stronger. tree →

sense in the lessons

In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: Here the Israelites had to go down to Philistine smiths to sharpen their farm tools, because the Philistines allowed no smiths in Israel. Interpretation: Tradition sees this as a sign of how completely Israel was under Philistine control before Saul and David. In the primary lessons: At school children sharpen pencils with a sharpener; in the kitchen adults sharpen knives (a safety job for grown-ups). Teachers say «sharpen your maths skills» or «sharpen your mind». Phrases: «sharpen a pencil», «sharpen up», «pencil sharpener».

examples

• but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his plowshare, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock. (Prophets 1SA.13.20, JPS 1917) tree →
• Please sharpen your pencil before the test. tree →
• Dad sharpens the kitchen knives on a stone. tree →
• Practising every day will sharpen your spelling. tree →
• The eagle's eyes are sharp; it doesn't need to sharpen them! tree →
• The picture sharpened when I turned the lens. tree →
• I need to sharpen my coloured pencils. tree →
• Quiz games help sharpen your memory. tree →
• The beaver sharpened the end of the stick with its teeth. tree →
• Then he sat down and began sharpening his knife again. tree →

note

Regular verb: past «sharpened». It comes from sharp + -en, which means «make more». The tool is a «sharpener». Safety: only adults should sharpen knives, and a sharpened knife cuts more easily, so handle it with care.

In the corpora

• They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent; vipers' venom is under their lips.
• Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
• Small AI programs hide in everyday things, such as phone cameras that sharpen photos and blur backgrounds.
• Staying calm helps you think; panic does not sharpen your focus.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «sharpen» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.