sharpener

Definition

A device for making things sharp.

Etymology

From sharpen + -er.

Example Sentences

• "There was a pencil sharpener at the front of the classroom."
• "“Sir,” said the shepherd, “poverty is a great sharpener of the wits. […]"
• "The snuff-box, knife, and chicken-bones were again in requisition, and a pen was successfully formed. The ink, or at least its substitute, was rather more difficult, but necessity is always a sharpener of intellect, and even this was accomplished."

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