hone in

verb

honed in; honing in; hones in

intransitive verb

: to move toward or focus attention on an objective

looking back for the ball honing in

—George Plimpton

a missile honing in on its target

—Bob Greene

hones in on the plights and victories of the common man

—Lisa Russell

Hone in vs. Home in: Usage Guide

Most usage commentators consider hone in to be a mistake for home in. The use may have arisen from home in by the weakening of the \m\ sound to \n\ or it may have developed simply because of the influence of hone, with perhaps an underlying sense that "honing" figuratively involves a narrowing or sharpening of focus. Whatever the explanation of its origins, it has established itself in American English and has begun to make a few inroads into British English as well. Even so, your use of it especially in writing is likely to be called a mistake. Home in or in figurative use zero in is an easy alternative.

Examples of hone in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The murders were allegedly ordered by notorious gang leader Sam McKay, the appeals court decision said, and police eventually honed in on a gang member, Tyrone Washington, as a suspect. —Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025

So, sometimes for me, honing in on a lane has never been a thing. —Steve Baltin, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2025

For his Spring-Summer 1992 show in London, John Galliano honed in on the romanticism and sensuality of 19th-century slips typically worn in the French court. —Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 29 July 2025

As global policymakers wrestle with how to best govern artificial intelligence, some tech CEOs gathered at the RAISE Summit in Paris this week honed in on one point: regulation is not the best path to achieving safe AI right now. —semafor.com, 8 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of home in

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hone in

• santonin
• calcitonin
• digitonin
• melatonin
• serotonin
• kronen
• onan
• phonon
• ronin