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hone

1
[ hohn ]
/ hoʊn /
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See synonyms for: hone / honed / hones / honing on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), honed, hon·ing.
to make more acute or effective; improve; perfect: to hone one's skills.
to sharpen on a whetstone with a fine, compact texture: to hone a carving knife.
to enlarge or finish (a hole) using a precision tool with a mechanically rotated abrasive tip.
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.
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Origin of hone

1
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

OTHER WORDS FROM hone

hon·er, noun

Other definitions for hone (2 of 2)

hone2
[ hohn ]
/ hoʊn /
verb (used without object), honed, hon·ing.
South Midland and Southern U.S. to yearn; long: to hone for the farm life; to hone after peach pie.
Archaic. to moan and groan.

Origin of hone

2
1590–1600; <Anglo-French *honer;Old French hogner to grumble, growl <Germanic; compare Old Saxon hōnian to abuse, revile
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to hone

whet, acuminate, edge, file, grind

How to use hone in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hone (1 of 2)

hone1
/ (həʊn) /
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 for hone

Hone is sometimes wrongly used where home is meant: this device makes it easier to home in on (not hone in on) the target

British Dictionary definitions for hone (2 of 2)

hone2
/ (həʊn) /
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
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