stone

noun

\ ˈstōn

Definition of stone

(Entry 1 of 7)

1 : a concretion of earthy or mineral matter:

a(1) : such a concretion of indeterminate size or shape

(2) : rock

b : a piece of rock for a specified function: such as

(1) : a building block

(2) : a paving block

(3) : a precious stone : gem

(4) : gravestone

(5) : grindstone

(6) : whetstone

(7) : a surface upon which a drawing, text, or design to be lithographed is drawn or transferred

2 : something resembling a small stone: such as

a : calculus sense 3a

b : the hard central portion of a drupaceous fruit (such as a peach)

c : a hard stony seed (as of a date)

3 plural usually stone : any of various units of weight especially : an official British unit equal to 14 pounds (6.3 kilograms)

4a : curling stone

b : a round playing piece used in various games (such as backgammon or go)

5 : a stand or table with a smooth flat top on which to impose or set type

in stone

: in or into a permanent and unchangeable state plans are not set in stone

stone

verb

stoned; stoning

Definition of stone (Entry 2 of 7)

transitive verb

1 : to hurl stones at especially : to kill by pelting with stones

2 archaic : to make hard or insensitive to feeling

3 : to face, pave, or fortify with stones

4 : to remove the stones or seeds of (a fruit)

5a : to rub, scour, or polish with a stone

b : to sharpen with a whetstone

stone

adverb

Definition of stone (Entry 3 of 7)

: entirely, utterly —used as an intensive —often used in combination stone-brokestone-cold soupstone-dead

stone

adjective

Definition of stone (Entry 4 of 7)

1 : of, relating to, or made of stone

2 : absolute, utter pure stone craziness— Edwin Shrake

Stone

biographical name (1)

\ ˈstōn

Definition of Stone (Entry 5 of 7)

Harlan Fiske 1872–1946 American jurist; chief justice U.S. Supreme Court (1941–46)

Stone

biographical name (2)

Definition of Stone (Entry 6 of 7)

Irving 1903–1989 originally surname Tennenbaum American writer

Stone

biographical name (3)

Definition of Stone (Entry 7 of 7)

Lucy 1818–1893 American suffragist

Other Words from stone Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about stone

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Examples of stone in a Sentence

Noun

The pedestal is made of stone. His birthdate and date of death were carved on the stone.

Verb

He was stoned to death for his crimes. Stone the peaches before serving.

Adverb

The soup was stone cold.

Adjective

the stone stupidity of the senator's statements embarrassed even her staffers

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Unlike Elizabeth Jennings of The Americans, a stone-cold, emotionless spy whose character is almost traditionally masculine, Eve’s emotional attachment to her case is what makes her special and unique. — Jill Gutowitz, Glamour, "Killing Eve Is Made for Women By Women, and It Shows," 8 Apr. 2019 Either way, what is set in stone is that Access's new Executive Producer will be Judge Judy's Hot Bench and The Ellen DeGeneres Show alum Maureen FitzPatrick. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "Did Natalie Morales Get Fired From 'Access Live'? The Truth Behind the Rumors," 21 Mar. 2019 According to local lore, buried in the foundation of its magnificent blue-tiled El Ghriba synagogue are a stone and a door carried from Jerusalem by Hebrew priests fleeing the wreckage of the First or Second Temple. — Leslie Camhi, ELLE Decor, "Inside the World's Most Beautiful Synagogues," 5 Nov. 2018 Instead, it was meant to serve as a stepping stone for Luann’s return to New York life following her disorderly intoxication arrest in Palm Beach. — refinery29.com, "Did Ramona Singer Finally Have A Breakthrough On RHONY?," 28 June 2018 Imagery of both stones circulated widely thanks to social media. — Alexandra Macon, Vogue, "7 Ways Engagement Ring-Buying Is Changing," 12 Apr. 2019 Types of Tile Countertops There are many different materials on the market, but the pros recommend natural stone and porcelain for bathroom and kitchen countertops. — Taysha Murtaugh, Country Living, "Tile Countertops: Pros, Cons, and Everything Else You Should Know," 31 Jan. 2019 The current version of the ordinance still precludes the throwing of stones or missiles. — Emily S. Rueb, The Seattle Times, "9-year-old boy helps repeal snowball-throwing ban in Colorado town," 5 Dec. 2018 Her makeup, which was created by legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath, was equally as opulent, featuring another smattering of sparkly stones. — Zoë Weiner, Teen Vogue, "Cardi B Wore Diamonds in Her Hair For Her “Money” Music Video," 29 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The list of luxe hotels below are owned by the Sultan of Brunei, who today implemented a violent anti-gay law that states those who commit homosexual acts are to be stoned to death. — Elizabeth Gulino, House Beautiful, "Ellen DeGeneres Calls On Fans to Boycott These Famous Hotels," 3 Apr. 2019 There is a fine line between high and creative and stoned and useless. — Jenn Harris, latimes.com, "A vegan taco chef on the joys of cooking high, and the best food to make while you're stoned," 20 Apr. 2018 There’s also a lot of dull hopping and racing and mumbling — whereas Beatle ad-libs were witty before, now everyone just sounds stoned out of his mind. — Jordan Hoffman, New York Times, "Where to Stream the Best, and the Most Ridiculous, of the Beatles on Film," 9 July 2018 The female rats began getting stoned during the week of their mating period, and then for the 21 days of gestation. — Erik Lacitis, The Seattle Times, "‘Something wasn’t clicking’: WSU study shows offspring of pregnant rats exposed to THC have impaired development," 20 Nov. 2018 The van took Offred not to her death or her salvation, but to a trick, a brainchild of Aunt Lydia's (who is becoming more of a cartoon villain scene by scene) to punish the handmaids for refusing to stone Janine to death. — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, "'The Handmaid's Tale' Season 2 premiere recap: Escape the pain," 25 Apr. 2018 When a kid gets in trouble, why does no one say at any point, ‘Why are you getting stoned? — Marcus Harrison Green, The Seattle Times, "Constantine unveils proposed $4 million budget for his Roadmap to Zero Youth Detention," 19 Sep. 2018 But Musk says he wasn't stoned at the time of the tweet. — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, "Elon Musk says he is having the most “painful year of my career”," 17 Aug. 2018 Yoda-like, or vaguely stoned, the brand has in the past year established itself as the philosopher-poet of frozen meat sheets. — Rachel Sugar, Vox, "What happens when processed meat slices stop being polite ... and start getting real.," 28 Sep. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Instead, a curved, gently sloped, stone path landscaped with shrubs, leads from the driveway to the front door. — Sally A. Downey, Philly.com, "In Lower Gwynedd, a renovated bungalow to grow old in," 5 Feb. 2018 Stone tools, animal bones and evidence of fire were also found within the same layer at the site. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Oldest Homo sapiens fossils discovered," 7 June 2017

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