hone

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /hoʊn/ UK /həʊn/ See IPA manual

Freq #26670

Meanings

1

verb
To improve a skill or ability over time through practice.

She spent years honing her skills as a writer.
2

verb
To sharpen a blade with a special stone.

He honed the knife until it could slice paper.
3

noun
A fine stone used to sharpen the edge of a blade.

The barber ran the razor across the hone.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to improve a skill or... perfect

3 noun · a fine stone used to... whetstone

Word family

Forms honedhoneshoning

Derived forms honerhonestonerehone

Related forms grit sandpaper steel strop swarf

Etymology

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”)).

hon Middle English hān Old English *hainō Proto-Germanic *ḱeh₃i- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# hone

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /hoʊn/
**IPA (UK):** /həʊn/
**Frequency rank:** 26670

## Meanings
1. To improve a skill or ability over time through practice.
2. To sharpen a blade with a special stone.
3. A fine stone used to sharpen the edge of a blade.

## Examples
- She spent years honing her skills as a writer.
- He honed the knife until it could slice paper.
- The barber ran the razor across the hone.

## Derived Forms
- honer
- honestone
- rehone

## Related Forms
- grit
- sandpaper
- steel
- strop
- swarf

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: hon
- Root: hān
- Root: *hainō
- Root: *ḱeh₃i-

## Etymology
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”)).

## AI Etymology
Hone comes 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”)). In current use, the main senses are “To improve a skill or ability over time through practice” and “To sharpen a blade with a special stone”.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

markdown