philosophers' stone
noun
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
philosopher's stonenouna stone or substance thought by alchemists to be capable of transmuting base metals into gold
philosophers' stone
American
Or
philosopher's stone
noun
Alchemy.
philosopher's stone
British
noun
philosopher's stone
Cultural
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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
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:
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
For more than a century, electrical engineers have sought a kind of philosophers' stone: a cell that will turn chemical fuel directly into electricity.
From Time Magazine Archive
The job-hopping Nicolas in The House of the Spirits doubles for One Hundred Years' mad inventor, Jose Arcadio Buendia, who strives to manufacture the philosophers' stone and photograph God.
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 Eduard Farber
Their tweeted strategy was Google as philosopher’s stone, turning carelessly written sentences into dot-com gold.
From Slate ● May 17, 2022
The unsuccessful glassblower and alchemist Hennig Brandt was trying to find the philosopher’s stone, a mythical substance that could turn base metals into gold.
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
Go by “data,” and there might never have been a novel about a schoolboy and a philosopher’s stone.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 19, 2019
José Arcadio Buendía received his errant son with joy and initiated him in the search for the philosopher's stone, which he had finally undertaken.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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.
