hone

verb \ ˈhōn \

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Definition of hone

honed; honing

transitive verb

1 : to sharpen or smooth with a whetstone

2 : to make more acute, intense, or effective : whet

helped her hone her comic timing
—Patricia Bosworth

—

honer

noun

Recent Examples of hone from the Web

Schon — who honed his melodic, expressive style as an aficionado of blues and soul — thinks his old band mate would be an ideal partner for an R&B-style project.

— brian mccollum, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit still has open arms for Journey as band arrives with Def Leppard," 12 July 2018
The field for the Barbasol Championship includes professional contenders who have been honing their golf games for nearly as long as Musselman has been alive.

— danielle lerner, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville golfer and caddie team up for Kentucky's PGA tournament," 12 July 2018
All seven of Rucker’s siblings graduated from Thornton, while Rucker honed his skills with the Harvey Colts youth football program.

— pat disabato, Daily Southtown, "Disabato: Harvey native Keith Rucker 'about giving back and paying it forward' with youth football camp," 10 July 2018
Barrett had been a favorite of grassroots conservatives as a young female with strong religious views who honed her judicial philosophy clerking for Antonin Scalia.

— maureen groppe, Indianapolis Star, "Barrett passed over for high court, but Donnelly still faces tough choice," 9 July 2018
As more space opened up for people to launch businesses in North Korea, those who honed their skills during the rough years are well poised to take advantage, said Weisensee.

— james griffiths, CNN, "After nukes and summits, can Kim Jong Un reform North Korea's economy?," 8 June 2018
People who hone their voices in basement bars while yelling back at drunk hecklers are definitely not paragons of civility.

— felicia gans, BostonGlobe.com, "‘I never intended it to hurt anyone,’ Samantha Bee says, apologizing for Ivanka Trump vulgarity," 7 June 2018
People who hone their voices in basement bars while yelling back at drunk hecklers are definitely not paragons of civility.

— karen mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, "Samantha Bee Gives Fiery Apology for Calling Ivanka Trump the C-Word: 'Men Were Offended I Do Not Care'," 6 June 2018
Having grown up in Portugal and honed his footballing skills in Sporting CP's academy, Dier was painfully aware of England's last two penalty failures, both of which occurred against Portugal in 2004 and 2006.

— SI.com, "England PK Hero Eric Dier Had 'No Idea' He Was in Line for Spot Kick vs. Colombia," 5 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hone.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of hone

see ²hone

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1788

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Hardware Terms

adze, auger, awl, chock, ferrule, punch, tang

hone

noun

Definition of hone

: whetstone

Origin and Etymology of hone

Middle English, from Old English hān stone; akin to Old Norse hein whetstone, Latin cot-, cos, Sanskrit śiśāti he whets

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

hone

verb

Definition of hone

honed; honing

intransitive verb

1 dialect : yearn —often used with for or after

2 dialect : grumble, moan

Recent Examples of hone from the Web

The field for the Barbasol Championship includes professional contenders who have been honing their golf games for nearly as long as Musselman has been alive.

— danielle lerner, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville golfer and caddie team up for Kentucky's PGA tournament," 12 July 2018
Restaurant chefs, especially those who work over live fire, spend hours honing their skills.

— jeanmarie brownson, charlotteobserver, "Control the heat to grill the perfect steak," 26 June 2018
Justin McLeod, Hinge’s CEO, tells me the company spent the testing time honing its backend algorithm and getting Most Compatible to a point where the company feels confident putting it fully out there.

— ashley carman, The Verge, "Hinge’s newest feature claims to use machine learning to find your best match," 11 July 2018
The progress highlights a public-private conservation model honed by African Parks, whose expanding operations across the continent are likely to get more attention with Britain's Prince Harry as the group's president.

— christopher torchia, Fox News, "Backed by Prince Harry, conservation group expands in Africa," 7 July 2018
Restaurant chefs, especially those who work over live fire, spend hours honing their skills.

— jeanmarie brownson, charlotteobserver, "Control the heat to grill the perfect steak," 26 June 2018
Restaurant chefs, especially those who work over live fire, spend hours honing their skills.

— jeanmarie brownson, chicagotribune.com, "How to grill steak to perfection — it's all about controlling the heat," 5 June 2018
But few believe North Korea will truly dispense of its nuclear arsenal after decades spent honing it.

— charlie campbell, Time, "'The Korean War Is Over.' Kim Jong Un Begins 'Writing a New History' as the First North Korean Leader to Visit the South," 27 Apr. 2018
Donald Trump’s skills were honed through 45 years as a real-estate developer in the brawling New York City market.

— jerry hendrix, National Review, "Trump and His Strategy of Ambiguity," 8 Jan. 2018

Origin and Etymology of hone

Middle French hoigner to grumble

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Dialect Terms

bespoke, boughten, lave, muchacho, nigh, spunk, thunk, toboggan

HONE Defined for Kids

hone

verb \ ˈhōn \

Definition of hone for Students

honed; honing

: to sharpen with or as if with a fine abrasive stone

Learn More about hone

See words that rhyme with hone Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hone Spanish Central: Translation of hone Nglish: Translation of hone for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of hone for Arabic speakers

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hone

Definition of hone

honer

Recent Examples of hone from the Web

Origin and Etymology of hone

Other Hardware Terms

hone

Definition of hone

Origin and Etymology of hone

hone

Definition of hone

Recent Examples of hone from the Web

Origin and Etymology of hone

Other Dialect Terms

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HONE Defined for Kids

hone

Definition of hone for Students

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