stones

Noun

stone (countable and uncountable, plural stones or (UK, as unit of weight) stone)

1. (uncountable) A hard earthen substance that can form rocks; especially, such substance when regarded as a building material.
   • Toad, that vnder cold ſtone, / Dayes and Nights ha’s thirty one: / Sweltred Venom ſleeping got, / Boyle thou firſt i’th’ charmed pot.c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...

   Synonyms:

   rock

2. (countable) A piece of such material: a block of stone, rock or a pebble.
   • A railway station which formerly stood a few miles from Sydney has recently been demolished, stone by stone, and has been re-erected as a church in the Australian Capital Territory of Canberra, about 200 miles away.1960 March, “Notes and News: Cemetery Station Re-Erected as a Church”, in Railway Magazine, page 215

   Synonyms:

   pebble

3. A gemstone, a jewel, especially a diamond.
   • […]Ineſtimable Stones, vnvalewed Iewels[…]c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
4. (UK) A unit of weight 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.
   • British people measure their weight in stones and pounds. I weigh eight stone five.

   Synonyms:

   petra

5. The central part of some fruits, particularly drupes; consisting of the seed and a hard endocarp layer.
   • Near-synonym: pip

   Synonyms:

   pit, seed pit, pyrena, pyrene, pip

6. A hard, stone-like deposit.
   • The pain of passing a larger stone is often compared to child birth.2016 September 26, James Hamblin, “A Health Benefit of Roller Coasters”, in The Atlantic

   Synonyms:

   calculus

See all 39 meanings of stone