holystone

[ hoh-lee-stohn ]

noun
  1. a block of soft sandstone used in scrubbing the decks of a ship.

verb (used with object),ho·ly·stoned, ho·ly·ston·ing.
  1. to scrub with a holystone.

Origin of holystone

1
1815–25; holy + stone; perhaps originally jocular or profane

Words Nearby holystone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use holystone in a sentence

  • At five o'clock we have to get up and go inside again so they can holystone the deck.

    Parrot & Co. | Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for holystone

holystone

/ (ˈhəʊlɪˌstəʊn) /


noun
  1. a soft sandstone used for scrubbing the decks of a vessel

verb
  1. (tr) to scrub (a vessel's decks) with a holystone

Origin of holystone

1
C19: perhaps so named from its being used in a kneeling position

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012