hone

¹ American  

[hohn] / hoʊn /

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.

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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 American  

[hohn] / hoʊn /

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.

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hone ¹ British  

/ 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

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verb

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

hone ² British  

/ həʊn /

verb

1. to yearn or pine

2. to moan or grieve

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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

Etymology

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”

Example Sentences

Klarman honed in on five characteristics of Buffett that have contributed to his success, the first being his alert, accurate, quick and decisive mind.

From MarketWatch

Fire victims experienced something of such magnitude, they might believe, that it overshadows other, carefully honed parts of their identity — such as being a good friend or student or athlete, Leskin said.

From Los Angeles Times

The program has allowed them to hone their investment theses.

From The Wall Street Journal

Kwatra honed his fashion sense as a child growing up in India, according to a 2014 profile in the Boston Globe.

From The Wall Street Journal

His brother, David Broussard, is a musician, too, and served as his earliest influence — he played the saxophone and read music, encouraging his brother to hone in on his practice.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• whet