Sharks definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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Definitions (63)

American Heritage Dictionary (6)

noun Any of numerous chiefly marine carnivorous fishes of the class Chondrichthyes (subclass Elasmobranchii), which are sometimes large and voracious and have a streamlined torpedolike body, five to seven gill openings on each side of the head, a large oil-filled liver, a cartilaginous skeleton, and tough skin covered with small toothlike scales.
noun A person regarded as ruthless, greedy, or dishonest.
noun A vicious usurer.

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Century Dictionary (49)

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). Over 150 species are known as inhabitants of the modern seas, and sharks formed a very important or even predominant contingent to the faunæ of early epochs. The internal differences manifested by species having a considerable resemblance externally are so great as to have led some naturalists to propose for them three distinct orders, which have been named Anarthri, Proarthri, and Opistharthri. Most living sharka belong to the first order and represent therein 15 families, while of the Proarthri only one family with 4 species is known, and of the Opistharthri two families with 6 or 7 species. Most sharks are carnivorous, and some of them eminently so; their dentition corresponds to this character, the teeth being often compressed, with trenchant and frequently serrated edges, arranged in many rows, and folded back on the jaws, leaving only the outermost erect for action. These rows of teeth successively come into functional position. In others, however, the teeth are flattish and not erectile. In a few, also, which attain a large size, the teeth are extremely small, and the animal feeds upon very small animals, being not truly carnivorous. The skin is generally covered with small scales or plates firmly adherent to the skin and overlapping, forming shagreen. (See cut under scale.) But various deviations are manifested in different forms, and in one, Echinorhinidæ, the surface is mostly naked, only some thorn-like plates being developed. Sharks inhabit for the most part tropical and warm waters; the larger ones live in the open sea, but a few species extend into high north and south latitudes. The largest shark is Rhinodon typicus, the whale-shark, said to attain a length of over 50 feet. Next in size is the great basking-shark, Cetorhinus maximus, which is reported occasionally to reach a length of 40 feet. (See Cetorhinus, and cut under basking-shark.) Another large species is Carcharodon rondeleti, among those known as man-eaters. The ordinary carnivorous sharks belong to the family Galeorhinidæ or Carchariidæ, as the common blue sharks. The topes also belong to this family. (See cut under Galeorhinus.) The hammer-headed sharks belong to the family Sphyrnidæ or Zygænidæ. Fox-sharks or threshers are: Alopeciidæ. The porbeagles or mackerel-sharks are Lamnidæ. (See cut under mackerel-shark.) Gray sharks or cow-sharks are Notidanidæ. (See cut under Hexanchus.) Dogfishes are sharks of the families Spinacidæ and Scylliorhinidæ. False sharks are the chimeras or Holocephali.
Angel-shark the angel-fish or monk-fish, Squatina angelus. See cut under angle-fish.
Beaumaris shark the porbeagle, Lamna cornubica.

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Oh. Silvertip sharks -- they're actually three species of sharks here. — Richard Pyle dives the reef's Twilight Zone
Bob DeCreft wasn't cold and the sharks were already circling. — Stabenow, Dana - [Liam Campbell 01] - Fire and Ice
They tried to attack when no other sharks were around to compete. — FOXNews.com
Mad Men, where the sharks are also endangered, at the mercy of greater predators. — VF Daily
"We messed with the sharks, and now the sharks are messing with us." — Wrong Planet Asperger / Autism Forums

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sharks

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