stone

[stohn] /stoʊn/
noun, plural stones for 1–5, 7–19, stone for 6.
1.
the hard substance, formed of mineral matter, of which rocks consist.
2.
a rock or particular piece or kind of rock, as a boulder or piece of agate.
3.
a piece of rock quarried and worked into a specific size and shape for a particular purpose:
paving stone; building stone.
4.
a small piece of rock, as a pebble.
5.
precious stone.
6.
Chiefly British. one of various units of weight, especially the British unit equivalent to 14 pounds (6.4 kg).
7.
something resembling a small piece of rock in size, shape, or hardness.
8.
any small, hard seed, as of a date; pit.
9.
Botany. the hard endocarp of a drupe, as of a peach.
10.
Pathology.
  1. a calculous concretion in the body, as in the kidney, gallbladder, or urinary bladder.
  2. a disease arising from such a concretion.
11.
a gravestone or tombstone.
12.
a grindstone.
13.
a millstone.
14.
a hailstone.
15.
Building Trades. any of various artificial materials imitating cut stone or rubble.
16.
Printing. a table with a smooth surface, formerly made of stone, on which page forms are composed.
17.
(in lithography) any surface on which an artist draws or etches a picture or design from which a lithograph is made.
18.
a playing piece in the game of dominoes, checkers, or backgammon.
19.
Usually, stones. testes.
adjective
20.
made of or pertaining to stone.
21.
made of stoneware:
a stone mug or bottle.
22.
stonelike; stony; obdurate:
a stone killer; stone strength.
adverb
23.
completely; totally (usually used in combination):
stone cold.
verb (used with object), stoned, stoning.
24.
to throw stones at; drive by pelting with stones.
25.
to put to death by pelting with stones.
26.
to provide, fit, pave, line, face or fortify with stones.
27.
to rub (something) with or on a stone, as to sharpen, polish, or smooth.
28.
to remove stones from, as fruit.
29.
Obsolete. to make insensitive or unfeeling.
Idioms
30.
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?
31.
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
before 900; (noun) Middle English 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; (v.) Middle English stanen, stonen, derivative of the noun; (adj. and adv.) Middle English, derivative of the noun
Related forms
stonable, stoneable, adjective
stoneless, adjective
stonelessness, noun
stonelike, adjective
unstonable, adjective
unstoneable, adjective
Can be confused
boulder, cobblestone, granule, pebble, rock, stone.

Stone

[stohn] /stoʊn/
noun
1.
Edward Durell
[doo-rel,, dyoo-] /dʊˈrɛl,, dyʊ-/ (Show IPA), 1902–78, U.S. architect.
2.
Harlan Fiske
[hahr-luh n] /ˈhɑr lən/ (Show IPA), 1872–1946, U.S. jurist: chief justice of the U.S. 1941–46.
3.
Irving, 1903–1989, U.S. author.
4.
I(sidor) F(einstein) [fahyn-stahyn] /ˈfaɪn staɪn/ (Show IPA), ("Izzy") 1907–1989, U.S. political journalist.
5.
Lucy, 1818–93, U.S. suffragist (wife of Henry Brown Blackwell).
Examples from the web for stone
  • Often there was a headrest as well, semicylindrical and made of stone, wood or metal.
  • Rolling stone called it a performance of emotional grandeur and historical resonance.
  • To the southwest were the remains of a stone stupa built by king asoka.
  • They were housed in extremely solid chicken coops built from stone.
  • The earliest stone tools were crude, being little more than a fractured rock.
  • Once released from the stone, the sabers granted each of their wielders ranger powers.
  • It mirrors the sword in the stone because it is usually found stuck in a pedestal.
  • Kelpers collected on average, a wage of two shillings a week, and a stone of wheat.
  • The old gym is connected to the stone frigate by a covered walkway.
  • There, under his direction, the saints sacrificed to build a stone temple.
British Dictionary definitions for stone

stone

/stəʊn/
noun
1.
the hard compact nonmetallic material of which rocks are made related adjective lithic
2.
a small lump of rock; pebble
3.
(jewellery) short for gemstone
4.
  1. a piece of rock designed or shaped for some particular purpose
  2. (in combination): gravestone, millstone
5.
  1. something that resembles a stone
  2. (in combination): hailstone
6.
the woody central part of such fruits as the peach and plum, that contains the seed; endocarp
7.
any similar hard part of a fruit, such as the stony seed of a date
8.
(Brit) (pl) stone. a unit of weight, used esp to express human body weight, equal to 14 pounds or 6.350 kilograms
9.
Also called granite. the rounded heavy mass of granite or iron used in the game of curling
10.
(pathol) a nontechnical name for calculus
11.
(printing) a table with a very flat iron or stone surface upon which hot-metal pages are composed into formes; imposition table
12.
(rare) (in certain games) a piece or man
13.
  1. any of various dull grey colours
  2. (as adjective): stone paint
14.
(modifier) relating to or made of stone: a stone house
15.
(modifier) made of stoneware: a stone jar
16.
cast a stone at, cast aspersions upon
17.
heart of stone, an obdurate or unemotional nature
18.
leave no stone unturned, to do everything possible to achieve an end
adverb
19.
(in combination) completely: stone-cold, stone-dead
verb (transitive)
20.
to throw stones at, esp to kill
21.
to remove the stones from
22.
to furnish or provide with stones
23.
(Brit & Austral, slang) stone the crows, an expression of surprise, dismay, etc
Derived Forms
stonable, stoneable, adjective
stoneless, adjective
stonelessness, noun
stonelike, adjective
Word Origin
Old English stān; related to Old Saxon stēn, German Stein, Old Norse steinn, Gothic stains, Greek stion pebble

Stone

/stəʊn/
noun
1.
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)
2.
Sharon. born 1958, US film actress: her films include Basic Instinct (1991), Casino (1995), and Cold Creek Manor (2003)
Word Origin and History for stone
n.

Old English stan, used of common rocks, precious gems, concretions in the body, memorial stones, from Proto-Germanic *stainaz (cf. Old Norse steinn, Danish steen, Old High German and German stein, Gothic stains), from PIE *stai- "stone," also "to thicken, stiffen" (cf. Sanskrit styayate "curdles, becomes hard;" Avestan stay- "heap;" Greek stear "fat, tallow," stia, stion "pebble;" Old Church Slavonic stena "wall").

Slang sense of "testicle" is from mid-12c. The British measure of weight (usually equal to 14 pounds) is from late 14c., originally a specific stone. Stone's throw for "a short distance" is attested from 1580s. Stone Age is from 1864. To kill two birds with one stone is first attested 1650s.

v.

c.1200, "to pelt with stones," from stone (n.). Related: Stoned; stoning.

adj.

intensifying adjective, 1935, first recorded in black slang, probably from earlier use in phrases like stone blind (late 14c., literally "blind as a stone"), stone deaf, etc., from stone (n.). Stone cold sober dates from 1937.

stone in Medicine

stone (stōn)
n.
See calculus.

stone in Science
stone
  (stōn)   

  1. Rock, especially when used in construction.

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

  3. See calculus.


Slang definitions & phrases for stone

stone

adjective

Thorough; perfect; total: Reba's a stone psycho, I tell you/ People think it's a stone groove being a superstar

adverb

Totally; genuinely: He is one stone crazy dude

Related Terms

not carved in stone

[1935+ Black; fr earlier adverbial sense ''like or as a stone,'' in phrases like stone blind or stone deaf]


stone in Technology


A Structured and Open Environment: a project supported by the German Ministry of Research and Technology (BMFT) to design, implement and distribute a SEE for research and teaching.

stone in the Bible

Stones were commonly used for buildings, also as memorials of important events (Gen. 28:18; Josh. 24:26, 27; 1 Sam. 7:12, etc.). They were gathered out of cultivated fields (Isa. 5:2; comp. 2 Kings 3:19). This word is also used figuratively of believers (1 Pet. 2:4, 5), and of the Messiah (Ps. 118:22; Isa. 28:16; Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11, etc.). In Dan. 2:45 it refers also to the Messiah. He is there described as "cut out of the mountain." (See ROCK.) A "heart of stone" denotes great insensibility (1 Sam. 25:37). Stones were set up to commemorate remarkable events, as by Jacob at Bethel (Gen. 28:18), at Padan-aram (35:4), and on the occasion of parting with Laban (31:45-47); by Joshua at the place on the banks of the Jordan where the people first "lodged" after crossing the river (Josh. 6:8), and also in "the midst of Jordan," where he erected another set of twelve stones (4:1-9); and by Samuel at "Ebenezer" (1 Sam. 7:12).

Idioms and Phrases with stone

stone

also see: