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

• hones
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• honer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hones
  plural

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”

Explanation

The verb hone means to sharpen skills. When you practice shooting baskets every day after school, you are honing your skills as a basketball player. Hone, the verb, literally means to sharpen with a hone, a whetstone used to sharpen cutting tools. Use hone to describe someone working hard, perfecting or sharpening skills, as in "She is honing her skills as an actress by working in community theater." Hone, which rhymes with phone, is from the Old English word, han, meaning "stone, rock."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hone hones honed honing

It’s a lifestyle not entirely dissimilar to the rigorous training of an ice-skating prodigy, putting in the work at all hours to hone their skill.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

Publicis promises to create a more structured system: Publicis Sports will hone clients’ strategies, then hand them over to Tekta to identify promising athletes and schools based on those brand objectives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

He wanted to hone in on how to install his defense for a second time this fall.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

It also allowed him to hone his guitar skills and make connections within London’s burgeoning blues scene.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

With the help of Long Beach City College and Barnes & Noble, we created a college course that would allow us to hone our craft.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers

The Daily Express also hones in on criticism of the announcement from the British Jewish community.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Even as Cursor hones in on Composer, the company’s model-agnostic platform remains a key selling point, according to Ram Bala, professor of AI and analytics at Santa Clara University.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026

Even as China hones its formal sanctions toolkit, it still turns to informal methods when legal and political justification is thin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025

Brotherhood further hones that portrayal by writing John as a man making the same uneasy bargain to reengage with strangers as the rest of us.

From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2025

When he wasn’t digging up old hones, Archie Brubaker was teaching at universities in the East.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli

It’s there that young filmmakers like “Obsession’s” Curry Barker and Kane Parsons of “Backrooms” fame, also honed their talent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

A scholarship to Sedbergh School - "posh", in Brook's words - was where he honed his game, with 6.20am nets run by former Kent player Martin Speight.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

The deal could be the start of a bigger move to share weaponry that Ukraine has honed during its war with Russia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Still, some in the industry see foie gras following the familiar pattern in which Chinese exporters, honed by fierce competition at home, undercut global competitors with low prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Cromm honed his axe, and Qarl the Maid his sword.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

The 19-year-old, sporting a budding beard, usually operates from home, filling lulls by watching the TV show Criminal Minds or honing his drone-flying skills on a simulator.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

Ipsen, like many of its bigger rivals, sold its consumer-healthcare arm years ago, honing its focus on more lucrative—but also riskier—innovative specialty-care medicines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

After his China special in 2014, he decided to spend more time here, honing his act for American audiences.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

Schools sharpen students’ thinking and research skills, he noted, but higher education hasn’t been as good at honing students’ applied skills — and for AI, that includes knowing when to responsibly use the technology.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

Ser Jorah made a point of sharpening his sword each day, honing the point until it gleamed.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Related Words

• whet