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
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
Having said that, if there is an episode equivalent to a whetstone against which Stewart honed his sophomore season approach, it may be the first season's penultimate episode about, yes, the media.
From Salon • Nov. 5, 2022
When she was satisfied that she still remembered how to do it, she sharpened the steel on a whetstone until its edge glimmered silver- blue in the candlelight.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
