1
as in to sharpen
to make sharp or sharper
honed the knife's blade to razor-like sharpness honed his crossword-puzzle skills by reading the dictionary as though it were a thrilling novel
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2
as in to rub
to make smooth by friction
honed the edge of the axe until it was amazingly sharp
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hone
What Shore was doing during those first days roaming Manhattan with his camera was not just acquiring formal skills but also honing a particular quality of attention that would serve him for the rest of his career.
—
Chris Wiley, New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2025
Ethosource has honed the ability to coordinate shipments from multiple manufacturers, orchestrate local installation teams, and adapt to inevitable construction delays and challenges.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025
Sawkins continued honing his craft at the Amaury Guichon Pastry Academy in Las Vegas.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Sep. 2025
To survive a ruthless winnowing—to go from one of about 16,000 high-school quarterbacks each year to one of the 10 good ones in the NFL to one of the three or so each generation who earn the Hall of Fame’s gold jacket—hones certain traits within them and strips others away.
—Seth Wickersham, The Atlantic, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hone
Chris Wiley, New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2025
Ethosource has honed the ability to coordinate shipments from multiple manufacturers, orchestrate local installation teams, and adapt to inevitable construction delays and challenges.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025
Sawkins continued honing his craft at the Amaury Guichon Pastry Academy in Las Vegas.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Sep. 2025
To survive a ruthless winnowing—to go from one of about 16,000 high-school quarterbacks each year to one of the 10 good ones in the NFL to one of the three or so each generation who earn the Hall of Fame’s gold jacket—hones certain traits within them and strips others away.
—Seth Wickersham, The Atlantic, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hone
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hone
Verb
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The company has sharpened its focus by divesting its gaming app division, which enables it to concentrate more on ad technology.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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The very tool meant to sharpen medical practice had perhaps blunted it.—
Murali Doraiswamy,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Add a dab of liquid detergent to remaining stains and lightly rub it in.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
14 Sep. 2025
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The sports star shared another full-length shot of the couple — who currently reside in Oslo — with their arms around each other on the same white sands, while a third closer-up image showed the couple smiling and rubbing noses.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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What color would the statue be if it were polished as envisioned?—
Theo Burman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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Lopez stepped out looking both cozy and polished in an oversized tailored and tied cream jacket and a slinky matching floor-length skirt.—
Grace McCarty,
Glamour,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Some people take all the components off the frame, strip off all the decals, then get the whole thing sanded and powder-coated with a fresh coat of paint.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
9 Sep. 2025
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The companies that scale beyond pilots don’t try to sand away every rough edge.—
Jason Snyder,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Just keep grinding, keep working.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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That’s when most of the area’s biggest theaters grind back into action.—
David Lyman,
The Enquirer,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In addition to the other crimes, court documents note Denis allegedly aided in filing false joint tax returns in 2018, 2019 and 2020, resulting in claims of hundreds of thousands of fraudulent refunds each year.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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Every night, Blakeney told me, an army of employees filed into Epic Universe to power wash sidewalks, deadhead the plants, repaint dirty walls, and replace lightbulbs.—
Bianca Bosker,
The Atlantic,
14 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hone.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hone. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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