stone

[ stohn ]

/ stoʊn /

Save This Word!

noun, plural stones for 1-5, 7-20, stone for 6.

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: paving stone;building stone.

a small piece of rock, as a pebble.

precious stone.

Chiefly British. one of various units of weight, especially the British unit equivalent to 14 pounds (6.4 kilograms).

something resembling a small piece of rock in size, shape, or hardness.

any small, hard seed, as of a date; pit.

Botany. the hard endocarp of a drupe, as of a peach.

Pathology. a calculous concretion in the body, as in the kidney, gallbladder, or urinary bladder.

a gravestone or tombstone.

grindstone: Don’t even think about using that stone until you’ve got your safety glasses on.

millstone: The gristmill’s original pair of stones were made from volcanic lava deposits in southern Italy.

hailstone: With many verified reports of stones as large as 6 inches in diameter, we can tell you this was no ordinary hailstorm.

curling stone: Friction between the stone and the surface of the ice is controlled by many parameters, including velocity.

Building Trades. any of various artificial materials imitating cut stone or rubble.

Printing. a table with a smooth surface, formerly made of stone, on which page forms are composed.

(in lithography) any surface on which an artist draws or etches a picture or design from which a lithograph is made.

a playing piece in the game of dominoes, checkers, or backgammon.

Slang: Vulgar.Usually stones . testes.

adjective

made of or pertaining to stone.

made of stoneware: a stone mug or bottle.

stonelike; stony; obdurate: a stone killer;stone strength.

adverb

completely; totally (usually used in combination): stone cold.

verb (used with object), stoned, ston·ing.

to throw stones at; drive by pelting with stones.

to put to death by pelting with stones.

to provide, fit, pave, line, face or fortify with stones.

to rub (something) with or on a stone, as to sharpen, polish, or smooth.

to remove stones from, as fruit.

Obsolete. to make insensitive or unfeeling.

QUIZ

TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

Question 1 of 7

What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about stone

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?

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.

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

OTHER WORDS FROM stone

ston·a·ble, stone·a·ble, adjectivestone·less, adjectivestone·less·ness, nounstone·like, adjective

un·ston·a·ble, un·stone·a·ble, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH stone

boulder, cobblestone, granule, pebble, rock, stone

Words nearby stone

-stomous, stomp, stomper, stompie, -stomy, stone, Stone Age, stone axe, stone bass, stone-blind, stoneboat

Other definitions for stone (2 of 2)

Stone

[ stohn ]

/ stoʊn /

noun

Edward Du·rell

[doo-rel, dyoo-], /dʊˈrɛl, dyʊ-/, 1902–78, U.S. architect.

Har·lan Fiske

[hahr-luhn], /ˈhɑr lən/, 1872–1946, U.S. jurist: chief justice of the U.S. 1941–46.

Irving, 1903–1989, U.S. author.

I(sidor) F(ein·stein)

[fahyn-stahyn], /ˈfaɪn staɪn/, "Izzy", 1907–1989, U.S. political journalist.

Lucy, 1818–93, U.S. suffragist (wife of Henry Brown Blackwell).

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use stone in a sentence

One of these stones is decorated with a boar lying on its back.
An Ancient Site with Human Skulls on Display - Issue 89: The Dark Side|Jo Marchant|September 2, 2020|Nautilus
Stonehenge today includes 63 complete stones, including 17 standing sarsen stones in the outer circle.
Stonehenge enhanced sounds like voices or music for people inside the monument|Bruce Bower|August 31, 2020|Science News
We used to sit around his stone fireplace, chatting about everything under the sun, wine flowing and Leonard Cohen playing somewhere in the background.
Investors ride the Big Tech rally even as COVID cases and unemployment spike|Bernhard Warner|August 21, 2020|Fortune
Instead, the focus is on medical conditions that astronauts have a fairly high chance of developing, like rashes or kidney stones.
What will astronauts need to survive the dangerous journey to Mars?|Maria Temming|July 15, 2020|Science News

The stones help squish food so a creature doesn’t have to grind up everything in its mouth.
Fossil stomach reveals a dinosaur’s last meal|Carolyn Wilke|July 7, 2020|Science News For Students
My body used for his hard pleasure; a stone god gripping me in his hands.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“The US cannot tolerate the idea of any rival economic entity,” Stone writes.
Oliver Stone’s Latest Dictator Suckup|James Kirchick|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Accusing his opponents of being locked in a Cold War mind-set, it is Stone who is beholden to old orthodoxies.
Oliver Stone’s Latest Dictator Suckup|James Kirchick|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That Stone would slander the democratic, pro-Western, EuroMaidan revolution as a CIA coup is no surprise.
Oliver Stone’s Latest Dictator Suckup|James Kirchick|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Mullins quotes Stewart from an interview with Rolling Stone.
David Gregory's 'Meet the Press' Eviction Exposed in Washingtonian Takedown|Lloyd Grove|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That evening in the gondola, with one old and two newer friends, is marked with a white stone in my recollection.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
Monsieur,” growls the baron, “stone walls have ears, you say if only they had tongues; what tales these could tell!
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
A colossal steam "traveller" had ceaselessly carried great blocks of stone and long steel girders from point to point.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The clink of the stone-masons' chisels had resounded year after year from morning till night.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
A few small rocks of some soft stone may be added, and in between these the Ferns are planted.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin

British Dictionary definitions for stone (1 of 3)

stone

/ (stəʊn) /

noun

the hard compact nonmetallic material of which rocks are madeRelated adjective: lithic

a small lump of rock; pebble

jewellery short for gemstone

a piece of rock designed or shaped for some particular purpose
(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

plural stone British a unit of weight, used esp to express human body weight, equal to 14 pounds or 6.350 kilograms

Also called: granite the rounded heavy mass of granite or iron used in the game of curling

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

rare (in certain games) a piece or man

any of various dull grey colours
(as adjective)stone paint

(modifier) relating to or made of stonea stone house

(modifier) made of stonewarea stone jar

cast a stone at cast aspersions upon

heart of stone an obdurate or unemotional nature

leave no stone unturned to do everything possible to achieve an end

adverb

(in combination) completelystone-cold; stone-dead

verb (tr)

to throw stones at, esp to kill

to remove the stones from

to furnish or provide with stones

stone the crows British and Australian slang an expression of surprise, dismay, etc

Derived forms of stone

stonable or stoneable, adjectivestoneless, adjectivestonelessness, nounstonelike, adjective

Word Origin for stone

Old English stān; related to Old Saxon stēn, German Stein, Old Norse steinn, Gothic stains, Greek stion pebble

British Dictionary definitions for stone (2 of 3)

Stone

/ (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)

Sharon. born 1958, US film actress: her films include Basic Instinct (1991), Casino (1995), and Cold Creek Manor (2003)

British Dictionary definitions for stone (3 of 3)

stone-

prefix

very; completelystone-blind; stone-cold

Word Origin for stone-

from stone in the sense of "like a stone"

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

Medical definitions for stone

stone

[ stōn ]

calculus

Scientific definitions for stone

stone

[ stōn ]

Rock, especially when used in construction.

The hard, woody inner layer (the endocarp) of a drupe such as a cherry or peach. Not in scientific use.

See calculus.

Other Idioms and Phrases with stone

stone

In addition to the idioms beginning with stone

stone cold
stone deaf

also see:

cast in stone
cast the first stone
flat (stone) broke
heart of stone
leave no stone unturned
rolling stone gathers no moss
run into a stone wall

stone

Idioms about stone

Origin of stone

OTHER WORDS FROM stone

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH stone

Words nearby stone

Other definitions for stone (2 of 2)

Words related to stone

How to use stone in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for stone (1 of 3)

Derived forms of stone

Word Origin for stone

British Dictionary definitions for stone (2 of 3)

British Dictionary definitions for stone (3 of 3)

Word Origin for stone-

Medical definitions for stone

Scientific definitions for stone

Other Idioms and Phrases with stone