Iron sharpens iron. (Whiting, 1997 p. 235)
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Competition or interaction improves performance or character
Literally: metal sharpening metal
Examples
The two debaters engaged in a lively discussion, as iron sharpens iron
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “Iron sharpens iron. (Whiting, 1997 p. 235)” mean?
Competition or interaction improves performance or character Literally: metal sharpening metal
Is “Iron sharpens iron. (Whiting, 1997 p. 235)” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.