stone
noun
the hard substance, formed of mineral matter, of which rocks consist.
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Stoni.
stone
1 American
[stohn]
/ stoʊn /
noun
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stones,
plural
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stone
plural
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the hard substance, formed of mineral matter, of which rocks consist.
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a rock or particular piece or kind of rock, as a boulder or piece of agate.
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a piece of rock quarried and worked into a specific size and shape for a particular purpose: building stone.
paving stone;
building stone.
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a small piece of rock, as a pebble.
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Chiefly British. one of various units of weight, especially the British unit equivalent to 14 pounds (6.4 kilograms).
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something resembling a small piece of rock in size, shape, or hardness.
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any small, hard seed, as of a date; pit.
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Botany. the hard endocarp of a drupe, as of a peach.
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Pathology. a calculous concretion in the body, as in the kidney, gallbladder, or urinary bladder.
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a gravestone or tombstone.
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Don’t even think about using that stone until you’ve got your safety glasses on.
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The gristmill’s original pair of stones were made from volcanic lava deposits in southern Italy.
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With many verified reports of stones as large as 6 inches in diameter, we can tell you this was no ordinary hailstorm.
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Friction between the stone and the surface of the ice is controlled by many parameters, including velocity.
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Building Trades. any of various artificial materials imitating cut stone or rubble.
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Printing. a table with a smooth surface, formerly made of stone, on which page forms are composed.
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(in lithography) any surface on which an artist draws or etches a picture or design from which a lithograph is made.
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a playing piece in the game of dominoes, checkers, or backgammon.
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Slang: Vulgar. Usually stones testes.
adjective
adverb
verb (used with object)
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stones,
present (3rd person singular)
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stoned,
past participle, past
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stoning
present participle
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to throw stones at; drive by pelting with stones.
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to put to death by pelting with stones.
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to provide, fit, pave, line, face or fortify with stones.
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to rub (something) with or on a stone, as to sharpen, polish, or smooth.
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to remove stones from, as fruit.
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Obsolete. to make insensitive or unfeeling.
idioms
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cast the first stone, to be the first to condemn or blame a wrongdoer; be hasty in one's judgment.
What right has she to cast the first stone?
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set in stone, to put (something) in final form; finalize so as to prevent change or reversal: Also set / cast in concrete
These schematics for the library renovation are only proposals—nothing yet is set in stone.
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leave no stone unturned, to exhaust every possibility in attempting to achieve one's goal; spare no effort.
We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to find the culprit.
Stone
2
American
[stohn]
/ stoʊn /
noun
-
Edward Durell 1902–78, U.S. architect.
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Harlan Fiske 1872–1946, U.S. jurist: chief justice of the U.S. 1941–46.
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Irving, 1903–1989, U.S. author.
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I(sidor) F(einstein) Izzy, 1907–1989, U.S. political journalist.
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Lucy, 1818–93, U.S. suffragist (wife of Henry Brown Blackwell).
stone
1
British
/ stəʊn /
noun
-
the hard compact nonmetallic material of which rocks are made
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a small lump of rock; pebble
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jewellery short for gemstone
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a piece of rock designed or shaped for some particular purpose
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( in combination )
gravestone
millstone
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-
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something that resembles a stone
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( in combination )
hailstone
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the woody central part of such fruits as the peach and plum, that contains the seed; endocarp
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any similar hard part of a fruit, such as the stony seed of a date
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a unit of weight, used esp to express human body weight, equal to 14 pounds or 6.350 kilograms
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Also called: granite. the rounded heavy mass of granite or iron used in the game of curling
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pathol a nontechnical name for calculus
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printing a table with a very flat iron or stone surface upon which hot-metal pages are composed into formes; imposition table
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rare (in certain games) a piece or man
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any of various dull grey colours
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( as adjective )
stone paint
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(modifier) relating to or made of stone
a stone house
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(modifier) made of stoneware
a stone jar
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cast aspersions upon
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an obdurate or unemotional nature
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to do everything possible to achieve an end
adverb
verb
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to throw stones at, esp to kill
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to remove the stones from
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to furnish or provide with stones
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slang an expression of surprise, dismay, etc
Stone
2
British
/ stəʊn /
noun
-
Oliver. born 1946, US film director and screenwriter: his films include Platoon (1986), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), JFK (1991), Nixon (1995), Alexander (2004), and World Trade Center (2006)
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Sharon. born 1958, US film actress: her films include Basic Instinct (1991), Casino (1995), and Cold Creek Manor (2003)
stone-
3
British
prefix
stone
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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stonelessnessnoun
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stonableadjective
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stoneableadjective
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stonelessadjective
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stonelikeadjective
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unstonableadjective
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unstoneableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stonesimple
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stonessimple
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have stonedperfect
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has stonedperfect
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am stoningprogressive
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are stoningprogressive
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is stoningprogressive
-
have been stoningperfect progressive
-
has been stoningperfect progressive
Past
-
stonedsimple
-
had stonedperfect
-
was stoningprogressive
-
were stoningprogressive
-
had been stoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stone
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun stan, sto(o)n, Old English stān; cognate with Dutch steen, German Stein, Old Norse steinn, Gothic stains; akin to Greek stī́a “pebble,” Latin stīria “icicle”; the verb, adjective, and adverb are derivative of the noun
Explanation
Another name for a stone, or hard mineral lump, is a rock. If you turn over a large stone in the forest, you might find a whole colony of worms, beetles, and other creepy-crawlies living underneath. Stones are commonly used to build walls and buildings. Sculptures are carved from stone, and patios and garden walls are constructed of individual stones. Someone who seems to have "turned to stone" becomes as unmoving and unemotional as a piece of rock. Sometimes a valuable gem is colloquially called a stone, and the hard pit in a plum or apricot is another kind of stone. A stone is also a unit of measuring weight in Britain—equal to 14 pounds.
Vocabulary lists containing stone
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Along the disused line from Woljeong-ri towards Baengmagoji station to the south -- the section to be restored under the peace project -- vegetation crowds both sides of the tracks, nearly swallowing a stone wall.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
But Mitchell cleverly avoids setting any tone in stone.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
The eerie mood is accentuated by an introductory film projected on the distant stone and a twangy voice intoning excerpts from the Lincoln speeches etched in the atrium above ground.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
It also featured Moroccan sinks, a pool and spa, a stone fire pit, and a barbecue area.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
He picks up a stone and tosses it into the stream.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
“From ’93 on, I didn’t see him no more,” Shock G told Rolling Stone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Peter Stone, professor and head of the University of Texas at Austin’s school of computing, is continuing to compete for government sources such as the NSF.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
BBC Sport's Simon Stone says the Rodri and Fernandez deals happening are dependent on each other - but do not need to go through at the same time.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Gracie is Davis’ beloved late dog, according to reporting by Rolling Stone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
We’re going to watch Sorcerer’s Stone and eat Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans and send a photo to J. K. Rowling on Twitter and see if she likes our tweet.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
They come in stone- and black-coloured leather or tan suede.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 12, 2020
A digital transfer mired in grays and blues will muddy the sepia-seeping proceedings but not enough to appreciate the director’s vision of the stone- and iron-laden, antiquated era.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 10, 2015
Flames leapt ten feet in the air from three huge stone- lined firepits.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
They stopped at the center of camp, where two wide stone- paved roads met at a T. A street sign labeled the road to the main gates as via praetoria.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
Then stone- grind the kernels into masa, a light, slightly sticky paste with a distinct maize fragrance.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Between 200,000 and 400,000 people are estimated to engage in artisanal mining in Colombia, with many families relying on the income from selling the precious metals and stones they find to make ends meet.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
The president has weighed in on paving stones, marble, flagpoles and other aesthetic details around the White House as he reshapes the presidential grounds.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
Near the base of a column atop which Saint Simeon Stylites once perched, scattered stones lay bare the damage inflicted on the surrounding Byzantine monastery in northern Syria by war, looting and rampant illegal excavations.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Even after the researchers added pyrite and calcite crystals, each with different shapes from quartz, the chimpanzees still recognized and selected the crystal type stones.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
A trail of stones wandered along the floor.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
Muslim faithful ritually stoned the devil on Wednesday in the climactic ceremony of a hajj pilgrimage held in intense heat and against the backdrop of a war that has plunged the wealthy Gulf into crisis.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
The first Sunday service after the arrests, streamed from pastors outside the mainland, included a meditation on the biblical account of Stephen, the first-century disciple stoned to death for his faith.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
“I have been convicted and sacrificed and crucified and stoned without a trial and without the option to defend myself.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2025
The costumes are shining because the seamstress stoned them.
From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2025
Her feet are so cold, and just hours ago they were running over the stoned streets, and suddenly there are tears falling down my face.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
McNish says virginity is a man-made myth created by those in power, in times that "also spoke positively of slavery and stoning".
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Jackson’s lottery stoning takes place on a sunny June day, in contrast to the apocalyptic storm’s nighttime arrival on “Widow’s Bay,” forcing everyone into an underground shelter.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
It reenacts the Prophet Abraham's stoning of the devil at three places where Satan is said to have tried to dissuade him from obeying God's command to sacrifice his son Ishmael.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
What’s funny about the inspiration is that I had a whole ’nother outfit planned, and with the help of a friend, she’s stoning some things for me, but that didn’t come through today.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2025
“Well, he did. And it’s stood all this time and not a single scratch to it. Not until you started stoning it.”
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
