/ stəʊn; NAmE stoʊn/ noun , verb
■ noun
HARD SUBSTANCE
1.
[ U ] (often used before nouns or in compounds) a hard solid mineral substance that is found in the ground, often used for building :
Most of the houses are built of stone.
stone walls
a stone floor
a flight of stone steps
—see also drystone wall , limestone , sandstone , soapstone
2.
[ C ] ( especially BrE ) a small piece of rock of any shape :
a pile of stones
Some children were throwing stones into the lake.
—see also hailstone , philosopher's stone
3.
[ C ] (usually in compounds) a piece of stone shaped for a particular purpose :
These words are carved on the stone beside his grave.
—see also cornerstone , foundation stone , gravestone , headstone , lodestone , millstone , paving stone , stepping stone , tombstone
JEWEL
4.
[ C ] = precious stone
IN FRUIT
5.
[ C ] ( especially BrE ) ( NAmE usually pit ) a hard shell containing the nut or seed in the middle of some types of fruit :
cherry / peach stones
—picture at peach
IN BODY
6.
[ C ] (often in compounds) a small piece of hard material that can form in the bladder or kidney and cause pain :
kidney stones
—see also gallstone
MEASUREMENT OF WEIGHT
7.
[ C ] ( pl. stone ) ( abbr. st ) (in Britain) a unit for measuring weight, equal to 6.35 kg or 14 pounds :
He weighs over 15 stone.
She's trying to lose a stone.
•
IDIOMS
- leave no stone unturned
- a stone's throw
—more at blood noun , carve , heart , kill verb , people noun , roll verb
■ verb
[ vn ]
THROW STONES
1.
[ usually passive ] to throw stones at sb/sth :
Shops were looted and vehicles stoned.
to be stoned to death (= as a punishment)
FRUIT
2.
( BrE ) (also pit NAmE , BrE ) to remove the stone from the inside of a fruit :
stoned black olives
•
IDIOMS
- stone the crows | stone me
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English stān (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch steen and German Stein . The verb dates from Middle English (first recorded in sense 1).