stone

Meaning

Noun

1. A hard earthen substance that can form large rocks.
2. A small piece of stone, a pebble.
3. A gemstone, a jewel, especially a diamond.
4. A unit of mass equal to 14 pounds (≈6.3503 kilograms), formerly used for various commodities (wool, cheese, etc.), but now principally used for personal weight. Abbreviated as st.
5. The central part of some fruits, particularly drupes; consisting of the seed and a hard endocarp layer.
6. A hard, stone-like deposit.
7. A playing piece made of any hard material, used in various board games such as backgammon and go.
8. A dull light grey or beige, like that of some stones.
9. A 42-pound, precisely shaped piece of granite with a handle attached, which is bowled down the ice.
10. A monument to the dead; a gravestone or tombstone.
11. (obsolete) A mirror, or its glass.
12. (obsolete) A testicle.
13. A stand or table with a smooth, flat top of stone, commonly marble, on which to arrange the pages of a book, newspaper, etc. before printing.

Verb

1. To pelt with stones, especially to kill by pelting with stones.
2. To wall with stones.
3. To remove a stone from (fruit etc.).
4. To form a stone during growth, with reference to fruit etc.
5. (slang) To intoxicate, especially with narcotics. (Usually in passive)
6. (slang) To do nothing, to stare blankly into space and not pay attention when relaxing or when bored.
7. To lap with an abrasive stone to remove surface irregularities.

Adj

1. Constructed of stone.
2. Having the appearance of stone.
3. Of a dull light grey or beige, like that of some stones.
4. Used as an intensifier.
5. (slang) Willing to give sexual pleasure but not to receive it.

Adv

1. As a stone (used with following adjective).
2. (slang) Absolutely, completely (used with following adjectives).

Pronounced as (IPA)

/stəʊn/

Etymology

From Middle English ston, stone, stan, from Old English stān, from Proto-West Germanic *stain, from Proto-Germanic *stainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- (“to stiffen”).
See also Dutch steen, German Stein, Danish and Swedish sten, Norwegian stein; also Russian стена́ (stená, “wall”), Ancient Greek στία (stía, “pebble”), στέαρ (stéar, “tallow”), Albanian shtëng (“hardened or pressed matter”), Sanskrit स्त्यायते (styāyate, “it hardens”)). Doublet of stein.