bluestone

[ bloo-stohn ]

/ ˈbluˌstoʊn /

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noun

a bluish, argillaceous sandstone used for building purposes, flagging, etc.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of bluestone

First recorded in 1645–55; blue + stone

Words nearby bluestone

blue stain, blue state, blue stellar object, bluestem, bluestocking, bluestone, blue straggler, blue streak, blue succory, blue swimmer, bluet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bluestone in a sentence

He just went where whim and the bluestone took him, working entirely by hand.
The Hudson Valley’s outdoor art parks make for an alluring pandemic destination|Nevin Martell|April 23, 2021|Washington Post
Where these bluestones can be found in abundance, however, is 150 miles away in Wales at a place called the Preseli Hills.
Hiking along Virginia’s Aquia Creek and finding history a stone’s throw from home|Walter Nicklin|April 2, 2021|Washington Post
Inside is yet another ring, dating back at least 2,000 years, made of so-called bluestones — igneous rocks, each weighing between two and four tons, not indigenous to the area.
Hiking along Virginia’s Aquia Creek and finding history a stone’s throw from home|Walter Nicklin|April 2, 2021|Washington Post
The site is near quarries previously identified as sources of smaller Stonehenge stones, known as bluestones.
Stonehenge may have had roots in a Welsh stone circle|Bruce Bower|February 12, 2021|Science News

She walked down the bluestone and blacktop driveway and through shadows thrown by the branches of seven leafless oak trees.
Jimmy Breslin on JFK’s Assassination: Two Classic Columns|Jimmy Breslin|November 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The term “Bluestone” in the West of England meant holy stone.
Archaic England|Harold Bayley
A smooth road of bluestone with a surface like velvet, rarely broken by badly paved or badly worn sections, ran straight south.
The Dark Star|Robert W. Chambers
Martin, in despair, has taken to horse-doctoring his yaws with bluestone and to blessing the Solomons.
The Cruise of the Snark|Jack London
Two people should work together and pour the milk of lime and the bluestone solution together so that the streams mix in pouring.
Trees, Fruits and Flowers of Minnesota, 1916|Various
Sprinkle a little copper sulfate (bluestone) in the flame of a Bunsen burner.
Common Science|Carleton W. Washburne

British Dictionary definitions for bluestone

bluestone

/ (ˈbluːˌstəʊn) /

noun

a blue-grey sandstone containing much clay, used for building and paving

the blue crystalline form of copper sulphate

a blue variety of basalt found in Australia and used as a building stone

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