: any of numerous mostly marine cartilaginous fishes of medium to large size that have a fusiform body, lateral branchial clefts, and a tough usually dull gray skin roughened by minute tubercles and are typically active predators sometimes dangerous to humans
When something jumps the shark it undergoes a significant change for the worse and is on a new trajectory of unrecoverable decline. The happy days of its golden age are over.
The origin of the phrase jump the shark is tucked neatly in that previous sentence: it comes from a 1977 episode of the American TV series “Happy Days” (1974–1984) in which the program's most popular character, Fonzie, jumps over a shark while waterskiing in his trademark leather jacket. Some years later that episode came to be widely identified as marking the beginning of the iconic show's decline, and its plot device became a metaphor for similar transformations:
Nearly all TV shows ever produced have jumped the shark eventually. Such is the nature of television's creative conundrum. — Monica Collins, Boston Herald, 9 Jan. 2000
Most TV series take three seasons to jump the shark, but in the theater it can happen in 20 minutes … — Bob Verini, Daily Variety, 18 Sept. 2009
But in its headlong embrace of capitalism and corporate tie-ins, “Sex and the City” may have finally jumped the shark. — Laura Compton, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 May 2010
The phrase is no longer limited to contexts involving entertainment; anything that undergoes a significant change for the worse that marks the start of a period of decline can be said to have "jumped the shark":
Not everyone agrees when Picasso's art jumped the shark. — Jeffry Cudlin, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2011
Silicon Valley has “jumped the shark” and lacks innovation, venture capitalist Peter Thiel says. — Mike Murphy, MarketWatch, 1 Nov. 2018
Noun (2)
a card shark
a shark at calculus
being a new arrival in Hollywood, she was easy prey for the sharks in the movie business
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The report stated that 42 percent of shark attack victims were either surfing or doing board sports at the time of the encounter.—Becca Longmire, Peoplemag, 28 May 2024 Authorities sent up drones to watch for sharks, the station said.—Don Sweeney, Sacramento Bee, 28 May 2024 The Memorial Day edict came after a shark knocked a surfer off their board Sunday evening.—Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2024 Thanks to a mingling of cold and warm currents merging from the Indian and Southern Oceans, the islands offer an incredible diversity of wildlife, hence the appeal for bloodthirsty sharks.—Alex Schechter, Travel + Leisure, 24 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for shark
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shark.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
: any of numerous marine fishes that have rough grayish skin and a skeleton made of cartilage, that usually prey on other animals and are sometimes dangerous to people, and that include some caught for the oil in their livers or for their hide from which a leather is made
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