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• philosophers' stone
  philosophers' stone

  noun

  a substance sought by alchemists that would be capable of transmuting baser metals into gold or silver and of prolonging life.
• philosopher's stone
  philosopher's stone

  noun

  a stone or substance thought by alchemists to be capable of transmuting base metals into gold

philosophers' stone

American  

Or philosopher's stone

noun

Alchemy.

1. a substance sought by alchemists that would be capable of transmuting baser metals into gold or silver and of prolonging life.

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philosopher's stone British  

noun

1. a stone or substance thought by alchemists to be capable of transmuting base metals into gold

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philosopher's stone Cultural  

1. The stone or material that practitioners of alchemy believed capable of changing other metals into gold.

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Figuratively, the “philosopher's stone” is a substance thought to be capable of regenerating man spiritually.

Etymology

Origin of philosophers' stone

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

philosophers' stone philosopher's stone

You can hear traces of Darkside in the other’s respective solo projects, but their fusion operates like a philosophers’ stone.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 22, 2021

Each is embellished with vibrant figures and verses, which set out the process for making the philosophers’ stone and the elixir of life.

From Nature ● Apr. 28, 2020

Thanks to his special brand of financial alchemy, he appears to have discovered a modern-day philosophers' stone, not for turning base metal to gold but for turning risk into reward.

From Time Magazine Archive

The operation, conducted by CIA alchemists from 1954 until 1963, was part of a quarter-century hunt for a psychogenic philosophers' stone.

From Time Magazine Archive

It was a little late to search for the philosophers’ stone in 1669, yet it was in such a search that phosphorus was discovered.

From History of Phosphorus by Farber, Eduard

Their tweeted strategy was Google as philosopher’s stone, turning carelessly written sentences into dot-com gold.

From Slate ● May 17, 2022

Brandt believed that, if he could collect enough of this substance, he might be able to create the philosopher’s stone.

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 27, 2019

But for the denizens of Silicon Beach, aircraft represent the ultimate hack — a philosopher’s stone that makes rest out of work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2019

Valentine believed he was on the trail of the philosopher’s stone.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 30, 2018

Those who practised it were convinced that the philosopher’s stone had been successfully produced in the past.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton