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definitions

hone

1
[hohn]

noun

a whetstone of fine, compact texture for sharpening razors and other cutting tools.
a precision tool with a mechanically rotated abrasive tip, for enlarging holes to precise dimensions.

verb (used with object), honed, hon·ing.

to sharpen on a hone: to hone a carving knife.
to enlarge or finish (a hole) with a hone.
to make more acute or effective; improve; perfect: to hone one's skills.

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Hone In vs. Home InDoes a plane home in on a target or hone in on it? Does a musician hone her skills or home them? Are these two verbs interchangeable or do they have discrete meanings? Today we explore the origins and uses of hone and home. Hone entered English as a noun for a pointed rock used as a landmark. In the 1400s, it began to be …
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Nearby words

  1. hond.,
  2. honda,
  3. hondo,
  4. honduran,
  5. honduras,
  6. honecker,
  7. honecker, erich,
  8. honegger,
  9. honegger, arthur,
  10. honer

Origin of hone

1
before 950; Middle English (noun); Old English hān stone, rock; cognate with Old Norse hein hone; akin to cone
Related formshon·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for honers

hone

1

noun

a fine whetstone, esp for sharpening razors
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

verb

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

Word Origin for hone

Old English hān stone; related to Old Norse hein

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

hone

2

verb (intr) dialect

(often foll by for or after) to yearn or pine
to moan or grieve

Word Origin for hone

C17: from Old French hogner to growl, probably of Germanic origin; compare Old High German hōnen to revile
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
Word Origin and History for honers

hone

n.

"whetstone," Old English han "stone, rock, (boundary) stone," in Middle English "whetstone" (early 14c.), from Proto-Germanic *haino (cf. Old Norse hein "hone"). The verb is 1788, from the noun. Related: Honed; honing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper