Meanings
hone1
verbhone (third-person singular simple present hones, present participle honing, simple past and past participle honed)
present singular third person hones · participle present honing · participle past honed · past honed
- transitiveTo refine (a skill especially) by learning.
Huh? Training in your room under the torchlight / Hone that form to get you ready for the big fight
2011, “Revenge”, CaptainSparklez (lyrics), Doc Exx (music), performed by TryHardNinja, parody of Usher's DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love1 more example
He also honed the procedure known as cut and fill - whereby the spoil from railway cuttings was used to build up embankments.
2023 August 23, David E Norris, “Joseph Locke: a railway injustice...”, in RAIL, number 990, page 56
hone2
hone3
verbhone (third-person singular simple present hones, present participle honing, simple past and past participle honed)
present singular third person hones · participle present honing · participle past honed · past honed
- Southern USUKUSdialectalintransitiveTo grumble.
Such tunges ſhuld be torne out by the harde rootes,
c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.
hone4
interjection
Hone5
proper noun
- A surname.
Synonyms & antonyms
interjectionSynonym of alas Used to express sorrow, or grief
Similar
alas Used to express sorrowor grief
More synonyms by meaning
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
hone · noun, verb
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱeh₃i-“to sharpen”
- Proto-Germanic*hainō
- Old Englishhān
- Middle Englishhon“whetstone”
- Englishhone
From Middle English hon (“whetstone”), from Old English hān, from Proto-Germanic *hainō (compare Dutch heen, Norwegian hein), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱeh₃i- (“to sharpen”) (compare Ancient Greek κῶνος (kônos, “cone”), Persian سان (sân, “whetstone”)).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →hone · noun
Cognate with Icelandic hnúður. Distantly related to knot.
Full word history & related roots →hone · verb
- Frenchhogner“to grumble”
- Englishhone
French hogner (“to grumble”), which could be a cross of honnir (“to disgrace, shame”) and grogner (“to grunt”).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀκόνη, θηγάνη
- ἀκόνη (akónē)sharpening stone
- θηγάνη (thēgánē)sharpening stone
Bulgarian точило, брус
- точило (točilo)sharpening stone
- брус (brus)sharpening stone
- хонинг машина (honing mašina)machine tool
- точа (toča)to sharpen with a hone
- наточвам (natočvam)to make more acute, intense or effective
Catalan esmoladora, esmolar
- esmoladorasharpening stone
- esmolarto sharpen with a hone
- esmolarto refine or master a skill
Chinese Mandarin 磨刀石, 礪 /砺
- 磨刀石 (módāoshí)sharpening stone
- 礪 /砺 (lì)to sharpen with a hone
- 磨 (mó)to sharpen with a hone
Czech brousek, brus
- brouseksharpening stone
- brussharpening stone
- bruskamachine tool
- ostřitto sharpen with a hone
- naostřitto sharpen with a hone
- brousitto sharpen with a hone
- nabrousitto sharpen with a hone
- pilovatto refine or master a skill
- vybrousitto refine or master a skill
Danish slibesten, skærpe
- slibestensharpening stone
- skærpeto sharpen with a hone
- kalibrereto produce a precision bore with a hone
- finslibeto refine or master a skill
- forfineto make more acute, intense or effective
Dutch slijpsteen, wetsteen
- slijpsteensharpening stone
- wetsteensharpening stone
- aanzettento sharpen with a hone
- slijpento sharpen with a hone
- scherp makento sharpen with a hone
- kalibrerento produce a precision bore with a hone
- vervolmakento refine or master a skill
- vervolledigento refine or master a skill
- verfijnento make more acute, intense or effective
Esperanto akrigilo, akrigi
- akrigilosharpening stone
- akrigito sharpen with a hone
Finnish liippakivi, hoonaustyökalu
- liippakivisharpening stone
- hoonaustyökalumachine tool
- laahintatyökalumachine tool
- liipatato sharpen with a hone
- hoonatato produce a precision bore with a hone
- laahiato produce a precision bore with a hone
- hioato refine or master a skill
- hioato make more acute, intense or effective
French pierre à aiguiser, machine à roder
- pierre à aiguisersharpening stone
- machine à rodermachine tool
- aiguiserto sharpen with a hone
- affûterto sharpen with a hone
- perfectionnerto refine or master a skill
- affinerto refine or master a skill
- affuterto refine or master a skill
- aiguiserto make more acute, intense or effective
- affûterto make more acute, intense or effective
German Schleifstein, Wetzstein
- Schleifsteinsharpening stone
- Wetzsteinsharpening stone
- honento sharpen with a hone
- feinschleifento sharpen with a hone
- ziehschleifento sharpen with a hone
- ausfeilento refine or master a skill
- ausschleifento refine or master a skill
- verfeinernto make more acute, intense or effective
Hebrew לַחֲרוֹץ
- לַחֲרוֹץ (lacharótz)to sharpen with a hone
Hungarian fen
- fento sharpen with a hone
Indonesian mengasah
- mengasahto refine or master a skill
Italian mola, cote
- molasharpening stone
- cotesharpening stone
- affilareto sharpen with a hone
- molareto sharpen with a hone
- arrotareto sharpen with a hone
- affinareto sharpen with a hone
- affinareto refine or master a skill
Japanese 砥石, 研ぐ
- 砥石 (toishi)sharpening stone
- 研ぐ (togu)to sharpen with a hone
- 研ぎ澄ます (togisumasu)to sharpen with a hone
Latin cōs
- cōssharpening stone
Māori oroi, whakaratarata
- oroito sharpen with a hone
- whakarataratato sharpen with a hone
Norwegian hone
- honeto sharpen with a hone
Polish osełka, honownica
- osełkasharpening stone
- honownicamachine tool
- ostrzyćto sharpen with a hone
- naostrzyćto sharpen with a hone
- honowaćto produce a precision bore with a hone
- zhonowaćto produce a precision bore with a hone
- doskonalićto refine or master a skill
- udoskonalaćto refine or master a skill
- udoskonalićto refine or master a skill
- usprawniaćto refine or master a skill
- usprawnićto refine or master a skill
- szlifowaćto refine or master a skill
- szlifowaćto make more acute, intense or effective
- ostrzyćto make more acute, intense or effective
Portuguese mó, afiadeira
- mósharpening stone
- afiadeirasharpening stone
- amolarto sharpen with a hone
- afiarto sharpen with a hone
- esmerarto refine or master a skill
- aperfeiçoarto refine or master a skill
- esmerarto make more acute, intense or effective
Russian осело́к, точильный ка́мень
- осело́к (oselók)sharpening stone
- точильный ка́мень (točilʹnyj kámenʹ)sharpening stone
- брусо́к (brusók)sharpening stone
- хон (xon)machine tool
- отта́чивать (ottáčivatʹ)to sharpen with a hone
- точи́ть (točítʹ)to sharpen with a hone
- зата́чивать (zatáčivatʹ)to sharpen with a hone
- хонингова́ть (xoningovátʹ)to produce a precision bore with a hone
- отта́чивать (ottáčivatʹ)to refine or master a skill
Slovak naostriť, vybrúsiť
- naostriťto sharpen with a hone
- vybrúsiťto sharpen with a hone
- nabrúsiťto sharpen with a hone
- vycibriťto refine or master a skill
- cizelovaťto refine or master a skill
- zdokonaliťto refine or master a skill
Spanish asperón, afiladera
- asperónsharpening stone
- afiladerasharpening stone
- aguzaderasharpening stone
- aguzadorasharpening stone
- amoladerasharpening stone
- muelasharpening stone
- aguzarto sharpen with a hone
- amolarto sharpen with a hone
- aguzarto refine or master a skill
- agudizarto refine or master a skill
- sutilizarto refine or master a skill
- subtilizarto refine or master a skill
- agudizarto make more acute, intense or effective
- aguzarto make more acute, intense or effective
Swedish bryne, brynsten
- brynesharpening stone
- brynstensharpening stone
- hensharpening stone
- heningsstenmachine tool
- brynato sharpen with a hone
- slipato sharpen with a hone
- skärpato sharpen with a hone
- henato produce a precision bore with a hone
- finslipato refine or master a skill
- finputsato refine or master a skill
Tamil சாணை
- சாணை (cāṇai)sharpening stone
Turkish bileği, bilemek
- bileğisharpening stone
- bilemekto sharpen with a hone
Ukrainian брус, осла́
- брус (brus)sharpening stone
- осла́ (oslá)sharpening stone
Vietnamese mài, dũa
- màito sharpen with a hone
- dũato sharpen with a hone
Yiddish שלײַפֿן
- שלײַפֿן (shlayfn)to sharpen with a hone
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with hone
phoneownloanknownnoneshownunknownzonestonealonetonegrownpensionclonejoanthrownlonecologneconeblownthroneproneJoanneMalone
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
hone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hone
MLA
“hone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hone. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hone,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hone.
Source: hone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.