the hard substance, formed of mineral matter, of which rocks consist.
a rock or particular piece or kind of rock, as a boulder or piece of agate.
a piece of rock quarried and worked into a specific size and shape for a particular purpose: paving stone;building stone.
a small piece of rock, as a pebble.
precious stone.
Chiefly British. one of various units of weight, especially the British unit equivalent to 14 pounds (6.4 kilograms).
something resembling a small piece of rock in size, shape, or hardness.
any small, hard seed, as of a date; pit.
Botany. the hard endocarp of a drupe, as of a peach.
Pathology.
a calculous concretion in the body, as in the kidney, gallbladder, or urinary bladder.
a disease arising from such a concretion.
a gravestone or tombstone.
a grindstone.
a millstone.
a hailstone.
Building Trades. any of various artificial materials imitating cut stone or rubble.
Printing. a table with a smooth surface, formerly made of stone, on which page forms are composed.
(in lithography) any surface on which an artist draws or etches a picture or design from which a lithograph is made.
a playing piece in the game of dominoes, checkers, or backgammon.
Usually stones . testes.
adjective
made of or pertaining to stone.
made of stoneware: a stone mug or bottle.
stonelike; stony; obdurate: a stone killer;stone strength.
adverb
completely; totally (usually used in combination): stone cold.
verb (used with object),stoned,ston·ing.
to throw stones at; drive by pelting with stones.
to put to death by pelting with stones.
to provide, fit, pave, line, face or fortify with stones.
to rub (something) with or on a stone, as to sharpen, polish, or smooth.
to remove stones from, as fruit.
Obsolete. to make insensitive or unfeeling.
Idioms for stone
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?
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 of stone
First recorded 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”; (verb) Middle English stanen, stonen, derivative of the noun; (adjective and adverb) Middle English, derivative of the noun
One of these stones is decorated with a boar lying on its back.
An Ancient Site with Human Skulls on Display - Issue 89: The Dark Side|Jo Marchant|September 2, 2020|Nautilus
Stonehenge today includes 63 complete stones, including 17 standing sarsen stones in the outer circle.
Stonehenge enhanced sounds like voices or music for people inside the monument|Bruce Bower|August 31, 2020|Science News
We used to sit around his stone fireplace, chatting about everything under the sun, wine flowing and Leonard Cohen playing somewhere in the background.
Investors ride the Big Tech rally even as COVID cases and unemployment spike|Bernhard Warner|August 21, 2020|Fortune
Instead, the focus is on medical conditions that astronauts have a fairly high chance of developing, like rashes or kidney stones.
What will astronauts need to survive the dangerous journey to Mars?|Maria Temming|July 15, 2020|Science News
The stones help squish food so a creature doesn’t have to grind up everything in its mouth.
Fossil stomach reveals a dinosaur’s last meal|Carolyn Wilke|July 7, 2020|Science News For Students
My body used for his hard pleasure; a stone god gripping me in his hands.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“The US cannot tolerate the idea of any rival economic entity,” Stone writes.
Oliver Stone’s Latest Dictator Suckup|James Kirchick|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Accusing his opponents of being locked in a Cold War mind-set, it is Stone who is beholden to old orthodoxies.
Oliver Stone’s Latest Dictator Suckup|James Kirchick|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That Stone would slander the democratic, pro-Western, EuroMaidan revolution as a CIA coup is no surprise.
Oliver Stone’s Latest Dictator Suckup|James Kirchick|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Woods were shredded, the earth trembled and the ground exploded in showers of stone and red-hot metal splinters.
Hitler’s Hail Mary|James A. Warren|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It had classical proportions and nice shaping and dressing in stone.
Our Legal Heritage, 5th Ed.|S. A. Reilly
Stone coffins were commonly used by the wealthy, and but few were at first allowed to be buried within walled towns.
History of the Anglo-Saxons|Thomas Miller
The ceremony being over, the mouth of the pit was again covered with the stone, and the company returned.
The Arabian Nights Entertainments|Anonymous
So I was forced to bury it under a stone, where it is doubtless alive, to this vary day.
The Three Golden Apples|Nathaniel Hawthorne
On the summit of a height called Mostyn mountain, is a monumental stone denominated Maen Achwynfan (the stone of lamentation).
Curiousities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol. 1|Thomas Dugdale
British Dictionary definitions for stone (1 of 3)
stone
/ (stəʊn) /
noun
the hard compact nonmetallic material of which rocks are madeRelated adjective: lithic
a small lump of rock; pebble
jewellery short for gemstone
a piece of rock designed or shaped for some particular purpose
(in combination)gravestone; millstone
something that resembles a stone
(in combination)hailstone
the woody central part of such fruits as the peach and plum, that contains the seed; endocarp
any similar hard part of a fruit, such as the stony seed of a date
pluralstoneBritisha unit of weight, used esp to express human body weight, equal to 14 pounds or 6.350 kilograms
Also called: granitethe rounded heavy mass of granite or iron used in the game of curling
pathol a nontechnical name for calculus
printinga table with a very flat iron or stone surface upon which hot-metal pages are composed into formes; imposition table
rare(in certain games) a piece or man
any of various dull grey colours
(as adjective)stone paint
(modifier)relating to or made of stonea stone house
(modifier)made of stonewarea stone jar
cast a stone atcast aspersions upon
heart of stonean obdurate or unemotional nature
leave no stone unturnedto do everything possible to achieve an end
adverb
(in combination)completelystone-cold; stone-dead
verb(tr)
to throw stones at, esp to kill
to remove the stones from
to furnish or provide with stones
stone the crowsBritish and Australianslangan expression of surprise, dismay, etc
Old English stān; related to Old Saxon stēn, German Stein, Old Norse steinn, Gothic stains, Greek stion pebble
British Dictionary definitions for stone (2 of 3)
Stone
/ (stəʊn) /
noun
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)
Sharon. born 1958, US film actress: her films include Basic Instinct (1991), Casino (1995), and Cold Creek Manor (2003)