hone

¹

[hohn]

verb (used with object)

honed, honing 

1. to make more acute or effective; improve; perfect.

   to hone one's skills.

2. to sharpen on a whetstone with a fine, compact texture.

   to hone a carving knife.

3. to enlarge or finish (a hole) using a precision tool with a mechanically rotated abrasive tip.

noun

1. a whetstone of fine, compact texture for sharpening razors and other cutting tools.

2. a precision tool with a mechanically rotated abrasive tip, for enlarging holes to precise dimensions.

hone

²

[hohn]

verb (used without object)

honed, honing 

1. South Midland and Southern U.S.,  to yearn; long.

   to hone for the farm life; to hone after peach pie.

2. Archaic.,  to moan and groan.

hone

¹

/ həʊn /

noun

1. a fine whetstone, esp for sharpening razors

2. a tool consisting of a number of fine abrasive slips held in a machine head, rotated and reciprocated to impart a smooth finish to cylinder bores, etc

verb

1. (tr) to sharpen or polish with or as if with a hone

hone

²

/ həʊn /

verb

1. to yearn or pine

2. to moan or grieve

Usage

Hone is sometimes wrongly used where home is meant: this device makes it easier to home in on (not hone in on ) the target

Other Word Forms

• honer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hone¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English noun hone, hain “whetstone”; Old English hān “stone, boundary stone, rock”; cognate with Old Norse hein “hone”; akin to cone

Origin of hone²

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Anglo-French honer (unrecorded); Old French hogner “to grumble, growl,” from Germanic; compare Old Saxon hōnian “to abuse, revile”

Word History and Origins

Origin of hone¹

Old English hān stone; related to Old Norse hein

Origin of hone²

C17: from Old French hogner to growl, probably of Germanic origin; compare Old High German hōnen to revile

Example Sentences

The pair spent the next several hours honing the central idea and spitballing about plot and character development.

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AI can also be used to auto-generate subtitles or to hone ideas and scripts.

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A show like “People in the Dark” is a way to hone their skills from their day jobs, while also hopefully learning a few new tricks.

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On the other hand, Verley wants to modernise dairy by honing the nutritional benefits while reducing the environmental impacts.

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Winning them over with humor helped him with “honing my bravery on stage.”

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Related Words

• whet