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
If you have a very nice knife, sharpen it with a whetstone like this.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2022
The father sharpened the butcher knife with the whetstone he used to whet his scythe and his goose-necked brier hook in the summer when he cut brambles and young sumac in the fencerows.
From "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong
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.
