stone Hear it!

stone Definition

stone (stōn)

noun

  1. the hard, solid, nonmetallic mineral matter of which rock is composed
  2. a piece of rock of relatively small size
  3. a piece of rock shaped or finished for some purpose; specif.,
    1. a large, solid piece used in building; also, such pieces collectively
    2. a paving block
    3. a gravestone or memorial
    4. a boundary mark or milestone
    5. a grindstone or whetstone
  4. something that resembles a small stone; specif.,
    1. a hailstone
    2. the stonelike seed of certain fruits, as of a date
    3. the hard endocarp and the enclosed seed of a drupe, as of a peach
    4. Archaic a testicle
  5. precious stone
  6. pl. stoneBrit. a unit of weight, equal to 14 pounds (6.3503 kilograms): abbrev. st
  7. Med. an abnormal stony mass formed in the body, esp. in a kidney or gallbladder
    1. Printing a table with a smooth top, originally of stone, on which page forms are composed
    2. a surface incised or engraved with a design or text to be lithographed

Etymology: ME < OE stan, akin to Du steen, Ger stein < IE base *stāi-, to become thick, compress, stiffen > L stiria, a drop (< stilla), Gr stear, tallow

transitive verb stoned, ston′·ing

  1. to throw stones at; esp., to kill by pelting with stones
  2. to furnish, pave, line, etc. with stones
  3. to polish, sharpen, etc. with a stone
  4. to remove the stone from (a peach, cherry, etc.)

adjective

  1. of stone or stoneware

  2. Etymology: cf. stone-

    Slang complete, utter, thoroughgoing, etc. a stone genius

adverb

completely, thoroughly, etc. stone sober

stone Related Forms

ston′er noun

stone Idioms

leave no stone unturned

to do everything possible

Stone Definition

Stone (stōn)

  1. Stone, Edward Durell (də rel′) 1902-78; U.S. architect

  2. Stone, Harlan Fiske 1872-1946; U.S. jurist: chief justice of the U.S. (1941-46)

  3. Stone, Lucy (Mrs. Henry Brown Blackwell) 1818-93; U.S. reformer & suffragist

stone Synonyms

stone

modif.

rock, stony, rocky, flinty, adamantine, hard, rough, cragged, craggy, petrified, petrous, calciferous, calcific, lithic, calcified, become stone, petrographic, petrographical, crystallographic, lithographic, lithological, marble, granite.

stone Synonyms

stone

n.

concretion, mass, crag, cobblestone, cobble, boulder, gravel, pebble, rock, sand, grain, granite, marble, flint, gem, jewel.

cast the first stone

criticize, blame, reprimand; see attack 2, scold.

leave no stone unturned

take great pains, do everything possible, persist, try hard; see continue 1, pursue 1, work 1.

stone Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • throw: Have you ever thrown a stone into a pool?
  • carve: Figure 7: Carved stone with Pictish Latin inscription.
  • weigh: Enter your answer Thomas Ball Question 24: What weighed 464 stones in 1823?
  • lay: In May 1920 King George V laid the foundation stone of the Old Building.
  • step: It was the perfect stepping stone for what was to come next.

Adjective modifier

  • precious: With the council of Athene, he threw a precious stone among them.
  • semi-precious: Veins of semi-precious stones and metals were created including copper, lead, silver and iron.
  • stepping: Robson says it's an ideal stepping stone, a big club with small pressures.

Modifies a noun

  • circle: The trees around the stone circle are open on the Eastern side, allowing a view to the horizon.
  • wall: There is an obvious stone wall running through the area.
  • fireplace: Living Rooms: Large area with a stone fireplace.
  • barn: By night they are housed in a large stone barn with plenty of space, all their feed is additive free.
  • cottage: A delightful rural hamlet of natural stone cottages, set deep in the wooded Camel valley.
  • slab: The drying chamber, with an inner ring of upright stone slabs, had been cut into the earlier enclosure bank.

Noun used with modifier

  • kidney: A kidney stone is a possible cause of this.
  • paving: The paving stones are designed to show where the Market Hall would have originally stood.
  • standing: A sign points the way to Macleod's standing stone on the far side of the sand about 700 meters from the road.
  • foundation: The foundation stone of a new church was laid by Miss Hill of Appleby on 11 July, 1866.
  • rubble: Causeway wall of granite rubble stone with roadway between.
  • memorial: Firstly, the memorial stone next to the entrance of the bunker.