stone

¹ American  

[stohn] / stoʊn /

noun

PLURAL

stones, stone

1. the hard substance, formed of mineral matter, of which rocks consist.

2. a rock or particular piece or kind of rock, as a boulder or piece of agate.

3. a piece of rock quarried and worked into a specific size and shape for a particular purpose: building stone.

   paving stone;

   building stone.

4. a small piece of rock, as a pebble.

5. precious stone.

6. Chiefly British.  one of various units of weight, especially the British unit equivalent to 14 pounds (6.4 kilograms).

7. something resembling a small piece of rock in size, shape, or hardness.

8. any small, hard seed, as of a date; pit.

9. Botany.  the hard endocarp of a drupe, as of a peach.

10. Pathology.  a calculous concretion in the body, as in the kidney, gallbladder, or urinary bladder.

11. a gravestone or tombstone.

12. grindstone.

    Don’t even think about using that stone until you’ve got your safety glasses on.

13. millstone.

    The gristmill’s original pair of stones were made from volcanic lava deposits in southern Italy.

14. hailstone.

    With many verified reports of stones as large as 6 inches in diameter, we can tell you this was no ordinary hailstorm.

15. curling stone.

    Friction between the stone and the surface of the ice is controlled by many parameters, including velocity.

16. Building Trades.  any of various artificial materials imitating cut stone or rubble.

17. Printing.  a table with a smooth surface, formerly made of stone, on which page forms are composed.

18. (in lithography) any surface on which an artist draws or etches a picture or design from which a lithograph is made.

19. a playing piece in the game of dominoes, checkers, or backgammon.

20. Slang: Vulgar.  Usually stones testes.

---

adjective

1. made of or pertaining to stone.

2. made of stoneware.

   a stone mug or bottle.

3. stonelike; stony; obdurate: stone strength.

   a stone killer;

   stone strength.

adverb

1. completely; totally (usually used in combination).

   stone cold.

verb (used with object)

stoned, stoning

1. to throw stones at; drive by pelting with stones.

2. to put to death by pelting with stones.

3. to provide, fit, pave, line, face or fortify with stones.

4. to rub (something) with or on a stone, as to sharpen, polish, or smooth.

5. to remove stones from, as fruit.

6. Obsolete.  to make insensitive or unfeeling.

idioms

1. 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?

2. 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.

3. 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

1. Edward Durell 1902–78, U.S. architect.

2. Harlan Fiske 1872–1946, U.S. jurist: chief justice of the U.S. 1941–46.

3. Irving, 1903–1989, U.S. author.

4. I(sidor) F(einstein) Izzy, 1907–1989, U.S. political journalist.

5. Lucy, 1818–93, U.S. suffragist (wife of Henry Brown Blackwell).

---

stone ¹ British  

/ stəʊn /

noun

1. the hard compact nonmetallic material of which rocks are made

2. a small lump of rock; pebble

3. jewellery short for gemstone

4. 1. a piece of rock designed or shaped for some particular purpose

   2. ( in combination )

      gravestone

      millstone

5. 1. something that resembles a stone

   2. ( in combination )

      hailstone

6. the woody central part of such fruits as the peach and plum, that contains the seed; endocarp

7. any similar hard part of a fruit, such as the stony seed of a date

8. a unit of weight, used esp to express human body weight, equal to 14 pounds or 6.350 kilograms

9. Also called: granite.  the rounded heavy mass of granite or iron used in the game of curling

10. pathol a nontechnical name for calculus

11. printing a table with a very flat iron or stone surface upon which hot-metal pages are composed into formes; imposition table

12. rare  (in certain games) a piece or man

13. 1. any of various dull grey colours

    2. ( as adjective )

       stone paint

14. (modifier) relating to or made of stone

    a stone house

15. (modifier) made of stoneware

    a stone jar

16. cast aspersions upon

17. an obdurate or unemotional nature

18. to do everything possible to achieve an end

---

adverb

1. (in combination) completely

   stone-cold

   stone-dead

verb

1. to throw stones at, esp to kill

2. to remove the stones from

3. to furnish or provide with stones

4. slang  an expression of surprise, dismay, etc

Stone ² British  

/ stəʊn /

noun

1. 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)

2. Sharon. born 1958, US film actress: her films include Basic Instinct (1991), Casino (1995), and Cold Creek Manor (2003)

---

stone- ³ British  

prefix

1. very; completely

   stone-blind

   stone-cold

---

stone More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing stone

• cast in stone
• cast the first stone
• flat (stone) broke
• heart of stone
• leave no stone unturned
• rolling stone gathers no moss
• run into a stone wall

---

Other Word Forms

• stonable adjective
• stoneable adjective
• stoneless adjective
• stonelessness noun
• stonelike adjective
• unstonable adjective
• unstoneable adjective

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

Example Sentences

Locals sometimes used to swim around the stone masonry.

From The Wall Street Journal

Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema has come out fighting after a bruising month that saw him come under attack by stone throwers as he was trying to make a speech.

From BBC

Even after confirmation, nothing is set in stone.

From Salon

The event is widely seen as a stepping stone towards India's ambition to host the 2036 Olympics.

From Barron's

However, through the reflected light of your precious stones, your story will help others who have valuable collectibles in their family estate.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• gem
• gravel
• metal
• mineral
• pebble
• rock