stone
noun
the hard substance, formed of mineral matter, of which rocks consist.
stone
1 American
[stohn]
/ stoʊn /
noun
-
stones,
plural
-
stone
plural
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the hard substance, formed of mineral matter, of which rocks consist.
-
a rock or particular piece or kind of rock, as a boulder or piece of agate.
-
a piece of rock quarried and worked into a specific size and shape for a particular purpose: building stone.
paving stone;
building stone.
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a small piece of rock, as a pebble.
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Chiefly British. one of various units of weight, especially the British unit equivalent to 14 pounds (6.4 kilograms).
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something resembling a small piece of rock in size, shape, or hardness.
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any small, hard seed, as of a date; pit.
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Botany. the hard endocarp of a drupe, as of a peach.
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Pathology. a calculous concretion in the body, as in the kidney, gallbladder, or urinary bladder.
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a gravestone or tombstone.
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Don’t even think about using that stone until you’ve got your safety glasses on.
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The gristmill’s original pair of stones were made from volcanic lava deposits in southern Italy.
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With many verified reports of stones as large as 6 inches in diameter, we can tell you this was no ordinary hailstorm.
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Friction between the stone and the surface of the ice is controlled by many parameters, including velocity.
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Building Trades. any of various artificial materials imitating cut stone or rubble.
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Printing. a table with a smooth surface, formerly made of stone, on which page forms are composed.
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(in lithography) any surface on which an artist draws or etches a picture or design from which a lithograph is made.
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a playing piece in the game of dominoes, checkers, or backgammon.
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Slang: Vulgar. Usually stones testes.
adjective
adverb
verb (used with object)
-
stones,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stoned,
past participle, past
-
stoning
present participle
-
to throw stones at; drive by pelting with stones.
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to put to death by pelting with stones.
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to provide, fit, pave, line, face or fortify with stones.
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to rub (something) with or on a stone, as to sharpen, polish, or smooth.
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to remove stones from, as fruit.
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Obsolete. to make insensitive or unfeeling.
idioms
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cast the first stone, to be the first to condemn or blame a wrongdoer; be hasty in one's judgment.
What right has she to cast the first stone?
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set in stone, to put (something) in final form; finalize so as to prevent change or reversal: Also set / cast in concrete
These schematics for the library renovation are only proposals—nothing yet is set in stone.
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leave no stone unturned, to exhaust every possibility in attempting to achieve one's goal; spare no effort.
We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to find the culprit.
Stone
2
American
[stohn]
/ stoʊn /
noun
-
Edward Durell 1902–78, U.S. architect.
-
Harlan Fiske 1872–1946, U.S. jurist: chief justice of the U.S. 1941–46.
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Irving, 1903–1989, U.S. author.
-
I(sidor) F(einstein) Izzy, 1907–1989, U.S. political journalist.
-
Lucy, 1818–93, U.S. suffragist (wife of Henry Brown Blackwell).
stone
1
British
/ stəʊn /
noun
-
the hard compact nonmetallic material of which rocks are made
-
a small lump of rock; pebble
-
jewellery short for gemstone
-
-
a piece of rock designed or shaped for some particular purpose
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( in combination )
gravestone
millstone
-
-
-
something that resembles a stone
-
( in combination )
hailstone
-
-
the woody central part of such fruits as the peach and plum, that contains the seed; endocarp
-
any similar hard part of a fruit, such as the stony seed of a date
-
a unit of weight, used esp to express human body weight, equal to 14 pounds or 6.350 kilograms
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Also called: granite. the rounded heavy mass of granite or iron used in the game of curling
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pathol a nontechnical name for calculus
-
printing a table with a very flat iron or stone surface upon which hot-metal pages are composed into formes; imposition table
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rare (in certain games) a piece or man
-
-
any of various dull grey colours
-
( as adjective )
stone paint
-
-
(modifier) relating to or made of stone
a stone house
-
(modifier) made of stoneware
a stone jar
-
cast aspersions upon
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an obdurate or unemotional nature
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to do everything possible to achieve an end
adverb
verb
-
to throw stones at, esp to kill
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to remove the stones from
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to furnish or provide with stones
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slang an expression of surprise, dismay, etc
Stone
2
British
/ stəʊn /
noun
-
Oliver. born 1946, US film director and screenwriter: his films include Platoon (1986), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), JFK (1991), Nixon (1995), Alexander (2004), and World Trade Center (2006)
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Sharon. born 1958, US film actress: her films include Basic Instinct (1991), Casino (1995), and Cold Creek Manor (2003)
stone-
3
British
prefix
stone
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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stonelessnessnoun
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stonableadjective
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stoneableadjective
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stonelessadjective
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stonelikeadjective
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unstonableadjective
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unstoneableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stonesimple
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stonessimple
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have stonedperfect
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has stonedperfect
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am stoningprogressive
-
are stoningprogressive
-
is stoningprogressive
-
have been stoningperfect progressive
-
has been stoningperfect progressive
Past
-
stonedsimple
-
had stonedperfect
-
was stoningprogressive
-
were stoningprogressive
-
had been stoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stone
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun stan, sto(o)n, Old English stān; cognate with Dutch steen, German Stein, Old Norse steinn, Gothic stains; akin to Greek stī́a “pebble,” Latin stīria “icicle”; the verb, adjective, and adverb are derivative of the noun
Explanation
Another name for a stone, or hard mineral lump, is a rock. If you turn over a large stone in the forest, you might find a whole colony of worms, beetles, and other creepy-crawlies living underneath. Stones are commonly used to build walls and buildings. Sculptures are carved from stone, and patios and garden walls are constructed of individual stones. Someone who seems to have "turned to stone" becomes as unmoving and unemotional as a piece of rock. Sometimes a valuable gem is colloquially called a stone, and the hard pit in a plum or apricot is another kind of stone. A stone is also a unit of measuring weight in Britain—equal to 14 pounds.
Vocabulary lists containing stone
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.
See Examples For:
Conservationists have restored most of the original 16 towers and surrounding walls over the past 14 years, and put the finishing touches on a stone marker at the entrance last week.
From Barron's ● Nov. 10, 2026
But it proved so popular with the public that it was replaced in 1920 with a permanent version, in the same design but in stone.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2026
Among its more luxurious amenities are a “stunning chef’s kitchen,” a circular stone staircase that leads to a “custom built wine cellar,” and a stunning pool area in the backyard.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
Set decorator Tina Jones has used various artisans from a glassblower to a potter to a stone mason to augment the sets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
He put his hand on the stone lip and bent to peer inside.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
And they expect Gavin Stone, who last pitched in the majors in 2024, to be part of the equation, after a long road back from shoulder surgery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026
"Before the game all the talk was about individual errors," former Forest winger Steve Stone told BBC Radio 5 Live.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
“This house was the desktop image on my computer years before I bought it,” the musician told Rolling Stone in a 2014 interview.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
Oh wow, look at papa, a Rolling Stone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Mr. Stone worried there weren’t enough places for visitors to sleep.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
They come in stone- and black-coloured leather or tan suede.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 12, 2020
A digital transfer mired in grays and blues will muddy the sepia-seeping proceedings but not enough to appreciate the director’s vision of the stone- and iron-laden, antiquated era.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 10, 2015
Though his look was full of hatred, the steward turned and began to move along the stone- paved road.
From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi
Flames leapt ten feet in the air from three huge stone- lined firepits.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
A stone- lined path ran along the base of a broad mound of dirt about five feet high.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
Matt Smith said people living near Rufford Old Hall in Lancashire "were getting a bit miffed" with stones being taken from the historic boundary wall.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
To keep customers coming, his pub holds ancient wassailing rituals, where hundreds of patrons fire shotguns and throw stones into orchards to ward off evil spirits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
Quince offers both lab-grown and natural stones which come with a grading report, the aforementioned return policy and a warranty.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
Solidification is a newer alternative to traditional cremation that transforms a beloved pet’s remains into ash memorial stones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Steam crinkled her hair as she used a forked stick to drop in red-hot stones.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Muslim faithful ritually stoned the devil on Wednesday in the climactic ceremony of a hajj pilgrimage held in intense heat and against the backdrop of a war that has plunged the wealthy Gulf into crisis.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
The first Sunday service after the arrests, streamed from pastors outside the mainland, included a meditation on the biblical account of Stephen, the first-century disciple stoned to death for his faith.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
“I have been convicted and sacrificed and crucified and stoned without a trial and without the option to defend myself.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2025
"I am humbled yet again and reminded that I am human and I have flaws, but I will not stand by as I am stoned by those who have flaws themselves."
From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2023
But the more I thought about the whole affair, the faster I walked, till finally I was almost trotting, as if any minute I half-expected to be stoned from all directions.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
McNish says virginity is a man-made myth created by those in power, in times that "also spoke positively of slavery and stoning".
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Jackson’s lottery stoning takes place on a sunny June day, in contrast to the apocalyptic storm’s nighttime arrival on “Widow’s Bay,” forcing everyone into an underground shelter.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
Muslim faithful took part in the climactic ritual of the annual hajj pilgrimage on Wednesday, symbolically stoning the devil near Mecca.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
What’s funny about the inspiration is that I had a whole ’nother outfit planned, and with the help of a friend, she’s stoning some things for me, but that didn’t come through today.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2025
My mother left China in the winter of 1939, almost six months after the stoning, and arrived in New York Harbor in January, 1940.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
