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hone

 [hohn]   Example Sentences Origin

hone

1   [hohn] noun, verb, honed, hon·ing.
noun
1.
a whetstone of fine, compact texture for sharpening razors and other cutting tools.
2.
a precision tool with a mechanically rotated abrasive tip, for enlarging holes to precise dimensions.
verb (used with object)
3.
to sharpen on a hone: to hone a carving knife.
4.
to enlarge or finish (a hole) with a hone.
5.
to make more acute or effective; improve; perfect: to hone one's skills.

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Hone is an SAT word you need to know.
So is abase. Does it mean:
inclined to or favoring war or strife
to reduce or lower, as in rank, office, reputation, or estimation
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Origin:
before 950; Middle English (noun); Old English hān stone, rock; cognate with Old Norse hein hone; akin to cone

Related forms
hon·er, noun
Example Sentences
  • It took him about 15 years to hone his instrumental skills.
  • The course enables participants to explore backcountry terrain and hone survival skills.
  • But the team is trying to hone the method.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

hone

2   [hohn]
verb (used without object), honed, hon·ing.
1.
South Midland and Southern U.S. to yearn; long: to hone for the farm life; to hone after peach pie.
2.
Archaic. to moan and groan.
Origin:
1590–1600; < Anglo-French *honer; Old French hogner to grumble, growl < Germanic; compare Old Saxon hōnian to abuse, revile
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To hone
Collins
World English Dictionary
hone1 (həʊn)
 
—n
1.  a fine whetstone, esp for sharpening razors
2.  a tool consisting of a number of fine abrasive slips held in a machine head, rotated and reciprocated to impart a smooth finish to cylinder bores, etc
 
—vb
3.  (tr) to sharpen or polish with or as if with a hone
 
usage  Hone is sometimes wrongly used where home is meant: this device makes it easier to home in on (not hone in on) the target

hone2 (həʊn)
 
—vb (often foll by for or after)
1.  to yearn or pine
2.  to moan or grieve
 
[C17: from Old French hogner to growl, probably of Germanic origin; compare Old High German hōnen to revile]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

hone
O.E. han "stone, rock," in M.E. "whetstone" (early 14c.), from P.Gmc. *khaino (cf. O.N. hein "hone"). The verb is 1788, from the noun.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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