honed

American  

[hohnd] / hoʊnd /

adjective

1. sharpened on a hone or whetstone.

   Our julienne peeler has 12 honed blades for superfine cuts that will make your julienne vegetables look like a restaurant’s.

2. made more acute or effective; improved or perfected.

   We finish our degrees with highly desirable, finely honed skills, including how to research, how to work hard, and how to think critically.

3. (of a hole) enlarged with a hone.

   When it comes to the barrel of this rifle, the diameter uniformity and roundness of the honed bore are superb.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of hone.

Etymology

Origin of honed

hone ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

honed

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

Investors honed in on the details of a Marvell deal with Alphabet’s Google, suggesting to one veteran strategist that the bar was higher than ever for AI companies after their stock-market surge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Wing or centre, a wonderful finisher and a player whose innate talents were honed on those tough streets of his district - one that also produced fellow pioneers Roy Francis and Colin Dixon.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 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

She was a deductive mastermind, he supposed, but her gift wasn’t honed from training her mind for acute observation.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

Related Words

• cogent
• concise
• laconic
• succinct
• terse
• trenchant