stone
stone [stone stones stoned stoning] noun, verb BrE [stəʊn] NAmE [stoʊn]
noun
HARD SUBSTANCE
1. uncountable (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. countable (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. countable (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. countable = ↑precious stone
IN FRUIT
5. countable (especially BrE) (NAmE usually pit)a hard shell containing the nut or seed in the middle of some types of fruit
•cherry/peach stones
IN BODY
6. countable (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. countable (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.
more at like getting blood out of/from a stone at ↑blood n., have a heart of stone at ↑heart, kill two birds with one stone at ↑kill v., people (who live) in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at ↑people n., a rolling stone gathers no moss at ↑roll v.
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).
Thesaurus:
stone noun U, C
•a stone bridge/floor/carving
rock • • boulder • • pebble •
solid stone/rock
throw a stone/rock/boulder/pebble
Stone or rock? Rock U is still a part of the ground; stone U has been dug up from the ground:
•houses built of stone
✗ houses built of rock:
•the rock walls of the cave
✗ the stone walls of the cave In British English people throw stones and a rock is sth too big to pick up and throw. In American English rock is the usual word for a small piece of rock that you can pick up.
Example Bank:
•He is a sculptor who works mainly in stone.
•She had the stone set in a ring.
•Some loose stones tumbled down the slope behind her.
•The boys were caught throwing stones at passing trains.
•The path's stone flags were worn and broken.
•The stone circle at Avebury is larger than Stonehenge.
•The stone is cut into blocks ready for building.
•The walls were hewn from local stone.
•These rules are not set in stone.
•a carved stone fireplace
•names carved in stone
•a stone bridge/floor/carving
•cherry/peach stones
Idioms: ↑leave no stone unturned ▪ ↑set in stone ▪ ↑stone me ▪ ↑stone the crows ▪ ↑stone's throw
verb
THROW STONES
1. usually passive ~ sb/sth 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)~ sth to remove the stone from the inside of a fruit
•stoned black olives
Verb forms: 
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).
See also: ↑pit
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