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Definition of hone verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

hone

verb
 
/həʊn/
 
/həʊn/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they hone
 
/həʊn/
 
/həʊn/
he / she / it hones
 
/həʊnz/
 
/həʊnz/
past simple honed
 
/həʊnd/
 
/həʊnd/
past participle honed
 
/həʊnd/
 
/həʊnd/
-ing form honing
 
/ˈhəʊnɪŋ/
 
/ˈhəʊnɪŋ/
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  1. to develop and improve something, especially a skill, over a period of time
    • hone something She honed her debating skills at college.
    • It was a finely honed piece of writing.
    • hone something to something His body was honed to perfection.
  2. hone something (to something) to make a knife or other tool sharp or sharper synonym sharpen
    • The knife had been honed to razor sharpness.
    • The hook should be honed to a needle-sharp point.
  3. Word OriginMiddle English: from Old English hān ‘stone’, of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse hein.
See hone in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

Other results

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alloy
noun
 
 
From the Topic
Physics and chemistry
C2
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