Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense hones, present participle honing, past tense, past participle honed
1. verb
If you hone something, for example a skill, technique, idea, or product, you carefully develop it over a long period of time so that itis exactly right for your purpose.
Leading companies spend time and money on honing the skills of senior managers. [VERB noun]
His body is honed and kept in trim with constant exercise. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: improve, better, polish, enhance More Synonyms of hone
2. verb
If you hone a blade, weapon, or tool, you sharpen it on a stone or with a special device.
[technical]
...four grinding wheels for honing fine edged tools and implements. [VERB noun]
...a thin, honed blade. [VERB-ed]
Synonyms: sharpen, point, grind, edge More Synonyms of hone
hone in British English1
(həʊn)
noun
1.
a fine whetstone, esp for sharpening razors
2.
a tool consisting of a number of fine abrasive slips held in a machine head, rotated and reciprocated to impart a smooth finish to cylinder bores, etc
verb
3. (transitive)
to sharpen or polish with or as if with a hone
▶ USAGE Hone is sometimes wrongly used where home is meant: this device makes it easier to home in on (not hone in on) the target
Word origin
Old English hān stone; related to Old Norse hein
hone in British English2
(həʊn)
verb(intransitive) dialect
1. (often foll byfor or after)
to yearn or pine
2.
to moan or grieve
Word origin
C17: from Old French hogner to growl, probably of Germanic origin; compare Old High German hōnen to revile
hone in American English1
(hoʊn)
noun
1.
a fine-grained, hard stone used to sharpen cutting tools
verb transitiveWord forms: honed or ˈhoning
2.
to sharpen with or as with a hone
3. Mechanics
to enlarge or smooth (a bore) to exact specifications with an abrasive, rotating stick (honing stone)
Derived forms
honer (ˈhoner)
noun
Word origin
ME < OE han, a stone, akin to ON hein, a hone < IE base *ko(i)-, to sharpen, whet > L cos, whetstone, cotes, sharp rock, Gr kōnos, cone
hone in American English2
(hoʊn)
verb intransitiveWord forms: honed or ˈhoning Dialectal
1.
to yearn; long
2.
to grumble; moan
Word origin
ME honen < NormFr honer < OFr houir, to disgrace (< Frank *haunjan, to scorn, insult, akin to OE hean, wretched) < IE base *kau-, to humiliate > Latvian kauns, disgrace; sense infl. by OFr hognier, to grumble, prob. of echoic orig.
Examples of 'hone' in a sentence
hone
Its firefighters have received pet resuscitation training and a dog mannequin is used to hone their skills.
The Sun (2016)
It calls for physical skills as finely honed as those that produce the perfect golf swing or the silky cover drive.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The cricketers said that they needed more equipment such as nets with which to hone their skills before taking on other teams next year.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
No stone is left unturned when it comes to honing the body and mind.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
There is a danger of honing a technique that becomes adapted for facing machines rather human beings.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Use your finely honed intuition to lead you and stay focused.
The Sun (2015)
Time to hone your skills as an energy manager.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
But what will her intervention mean for both the unionist cause and her carefully honed image?
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
But it has been polished and honed.
The Sun (2011)
You can always book another class to hone your skills.
The Sun (2013)
The extreme innovation of his twenties and thirties has given way to something more finely honed.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The committee has given itself extra time to hone its findings.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Our generation honed their skills in county cricket.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
All you can do is hone your technique and hope it holds up under pressure.
The Sun (2010)
Your intuition and psychic antenna is finely honed and you will instinctively know what looks or feels right.
The Sun (2015)
Your major investment will be the time and effort you put into learning your product and honing your skills.
Hopkins, Tom The Guide to Greatness in Sales (1994)
Yes, her meticulously honed body did look stunning.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
We try them out in front of an audience, we hone and polish them.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
We mix up cardio, stretches and body weights to hone and tone her body.
The Sun (2013)
The favourite has not had the time to hone his message - as has sometimes been obvious.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
As a result of the ban, he honed his soccer skills.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
His temper and his language have not improved but his body has been honed and toned in a gym to a lethal hardness.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
In short, their skills are perfectly honed for tearing small furry animals apart in the dead of night or attending satanic rituals.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It requires actors to think in long paragraphs, to take deep breaths and to support a thought right through to its perfectly honed climax.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
But, emotionally, his will was a specific and carefully honed final message to us.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Track and field, with bodies perfectly honed for various tasks, is beautiful.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Word lists with
hone
tool
In other languages
hone
British English: hone VERB
If you hone something, for example a skill, technique, idea, or product, you carefully develop it over a long period of time so that it is exactly right for your purpose.
Leading companies spend time and money on honing the skills of senior managers.
American English: hone
Brazilian Portuguese: afiar
Chinese: 磨砺
European Spanish: perfeccionar
French: parfaire
German: aufbauen
Italian: affinare
Japanese: 磨く
Korean: 도야하다
European Portuguese: afiar
Latin American Spanish: perfeccionar
1 (verb)
Definition
to develop and improve (a quality or ability)
honing the skills of senior managers
Synonyms
improve
He improved their house.
better
Our parents came here with the hope of bettering themselves.
polish
Polish up your writing skills on a one-week course.
enhance
They want to enhance their reputation abroad.
upgrade
Medical facilities are being reorganized and upgraded.
refine
Surgical techniques are constantly being refined.
sharpen
You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.
augment
She was searching for a way to augment her income.
help
The surgery has really helped her back pain.
2 (verb)
Definition
to sharpen (a tool)
four grinding wheels for honing fine-edged tools
Synonyms
sharpen
He started to sharpen his knife.
point
grind
The tip can be ground to a much sharper edge.
edge
file
shaping and filing nails
polish
whet
strop
Usage note
Hone is sometimes wrongly used where home is meant: this device makes it easier to home in on (not hone in on) the target.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of augment
Definition
to make or become greater in number or strength
She was searching for a way to augment her income.
Synonyms
increase,
grow,
raise,
extend,
boost,
expand,
add to,
build up,
strengthen,
enhance,
reinforce,
swell,
intensify,
heighten,
enlarge,
multiply,
inflate,
magnify,
amplify,
dilate
in the sense of better
Definition
to improve upon
Our parents came here with the hope of bettering themselves.