Webster's English Dictionary

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shark

1. shark \'sha:rk\ n [origin unknown] : any of numerous mostly marine 
   elasmobranch fishes of medium to large siz e that have a fusiform body, 
   lateral gill clefts, and a tough usu. dull gray skin roughened by minute 
   tubercles, are typically active, voracious, and rapacious predators, and 
   are of economic importance esp. for their large livers which are a source 
   of oil and for their hides from which leather is made
2. shark n [prob. modif. of G schurke scoundrel] 1: a rapacious crafty 
   person who preys upon others through usury, extortion , or trickery 2: one 
   who excels greatly esp. in a particular field 
3. shark vt archaic  : to get by playing the shark  1: to play the shark  
   2: to live by shifts and stratagems