whetstone
Americannoun
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a stone for sharpening cutlery or tools by friction.
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anything that sharpens.
a whetstone for dull wits.
noun
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a stone used for sharpening edged tools, knives, etc
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something that sharpens
Etymology
Origin of whetstone
before 900; Middle English whetston, Old English hwetstān. See whet, stone
Vocabulary lists containing whetstone
"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 4
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A Game of Thrones
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Martin’s “A Game of Thrones” series, said, “A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 30, 2025
Whatever knife you choose, buy a honing rod, sharpening steel or whetstone.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 9, 2023
Over the past two million years huge sheets of ice ground the landscape of central Illinois to a whetstone flatness.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 13, 2023
Activities that demand focus and industry are the whetstone to keeping cognition sharp, Merrill says.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 19, 2022
There was a pocket for fishline and flies; another pocket jammed tight with first aid equipment, a snakebite kit, a small whetstone, and other necessities of outdoor life.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
