- stone
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 hard solid substanceADJECTIVE▪ heavy▪ hard▪ rough, smooth▪ weathered▪ carved▪
a carved stone fireplace
▪ dressed, polished▪The wall was built of large blocks of dressed stone.
▪ crushed▪ building… OF STONE▪ block, slabVERB + STONE▪ break, cut, hew (sth from/out of)▪Convicts were made to break stone for the roads.
▪The stone is cut into blocks ready for building.
▪The walls were hewn from local stone.
▪ be built from/in/of/out of, be carved from/in/of/out of, be made from/in/of/out of▪names carved in stone
▪ carve sth inSTONE + NOUN▪ block, flag (BrE), slab▪The path's stone slabs were worn and broken.
▪ arch, archway, bridge, building, floor, house, pillar, stairs, structure, wall, etc.▪ monument, sculpture, tablet▪ axe/ax, tool▪ mason (usually stonemason)▪He went to work as a stonemason.
PREPOSITION▪ in stone▪He is a sculptor who works mainly in stone.
PHRASES▪ be set in, be written in (both figurative)▪These rules are not set in stone.
2 (esp. BrE) small piece of rock ⇨ See also ↑rockADJECTIVE▪ sharp▪ smooth▪ round▪ loose▪Some loose stones tumbled down the slope behind her.
… OF STONES▪ heap, pileVERB + STONE▪ cast (figurative), hurl, throw▪Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
▪The boys were caught throwing stones at passing trains.
3 piece of stone shaped for a particular purposeADJECTIVE▪ foundation▪ memorial▪ paving, stepping▪ cobble, kerb/curb (usually cobblestone, etc.)▪ grinding, sharpening▪ pumice▪ standingSTONE + NOUN▪ circle▪The stone circle at Avebury is larger than Stonehenge.
4 precious stoneADJECTIVE▪ gem (usually gemstone), precious, semi-preciousVERB + STONE▪ mine▪ cut▪ set▪She had the stone set in a ring.
STONE + VERB▪ glitter, shine5 (BrE) measure of weight{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}verbStone is used with these nouns as the object: ↑avocado{{Roman}}III.{{/Roman}}adv.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
