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 sharp, but flexible point allows for drawing fluid, sweeping lines, but also honing in on the tiniest details, like tracing the very inner corners of your lash lines or shaping the upward flick of a cat eye. —Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025

The spread narrows complacency at the low end and caps extravagance above, preserving budget integrity while honing in on operating margin expansion. —Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025

So the team has spent the last year carefully removing contamination from the TRAPPIST-1e data to hone in on the planet's atmosphere, or lack thereof. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 8 Sep. 2025

Roark said the district since 2023 has really honed in on restructuring its literacy curriculum, adding a reading specialist to intervene when students need it. —Lily Altavena, Freep.com, 2 Sep. 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