stone

Definition of stone

Nouns

a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter

Synonyms:: rock

Examples:: Plymouth Rock
a boulder in Plymouth supposed to be where the Pilgrims disembarked from the Mayflower

Types:: show 30 types...; hide 30 types...; achondrite
a stony meteor lacking chondrules; bedrock
solid unweathered rock lying beneath surface deposits of soil; boulder, bowlder
a large smooth mass of rock detached from its place of origin; glacial boulder
a boulder that has been carried by a glacier to a place far distant from its place of origin; river boulder
a boulder that has been carried by a river to a place remote from its place of origin; shore boulder
a boulder found on a shore remote from its place of origin; calculus, concretion
a hard lump produced by the concretion of mineral salts; found in hollow organs or ducts of the body; bladder stone, cystolith
a calculus formed in the bladder; enterolith
a calculus occurring in the intestines; bilestone, gallstone
a calculus formed in the gall bladder or its ducts; kidney stone, nephrolith, renal calculus, urinary calculus
a calculus formed in the kidney; ptyalith
calculus in a salivary gland; salivary calculus, sialolith
a stone formed in the salivary gland; urolith
a urinary stone; chondrite
a rock of meteoric origin containing chondrules; clastic rock
(geology) a rock composed of broken pieces of older rocks; crystal, crystallization
a rock formed by the solidification of a substance; has regularly repeating internal structure; external plane faces; crystallite
any of numerous minute rudimentary crystalline bodies of unknown composition found in glassy igneous rock; intrusion
rock produced by an intrusive process; outcrop, outcropping, rock outcrop
the part of a rock formation that appears above the surface of the surrounding land; belay
something to which a mountain climber's rope can be secured; outthrust
an outcropping of rock that extends outward; pebble
a small smooth rounded rock; petrifaction
a rock created by petrifaction; an organic object infiltrated with mineral matter and preserved in its original form; sill
(geology) a flat (usually horizontal) mass of igneous rock between two layers of older sedimentary rock; stepping stone
a stone in a marsh or shallow water that can be stepped on in crossing; tor
a prominent rock or pile of rocks on a hill; wall rock
a rock immediately adjacent to a vein or fault; whin, whinstone
any of various hard colored rocks (especially rocks consisting of chert or basalt); xenolith
(geology) a piece of rock of different origin from the igneous rock in which it is embedded

Type of:: natural object
an object occurring naturally; not made by man

building material consisting of a piece of rock hewn in a definite shape for a special purpose

"he wanted a special stone to mark the site"

Examples:: Blarney Stone
a stone in a castle in Ireland that is said to impart skill in flattery to anyone who kisses it; Rosetta Stone
a part of an inscribed granite stela that was originally about six feet tall and was set up in 196 BC; the inscriptions in hieroglyphics and Demotic and Greek gave the first clues to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics

Types:: show 19 types...; hide 19 types...; ashlar
a rectangular block of hewn stone used for building purposes; capstone, copestone, coping stone, stretcher
a stone that forms the top of wall or building; cornerstone
a stone at the outer corner of two intersecting masonry walls; cornerstone
a stone in the exterior of a large and important building; usually carved with a date and laid with appropriate ceremonies; foundation stone
a stone laid at a ceremony to mark the founding of a new building; gravestone, headstone, tombstone
a stone that is used to mark a grave; grindstone
a revolving stone shaped like a disk; used to grind or sharpen or polish edge tools; hearthstone
a stone that forms a hearth; millstone
one of a pair of heavy flat disk-shaped stones that are rotated against one another to grind the grain; monolith
a single great stone (often in the form of a column or obelisk); paving stone
a stone used for paving; cobble, cobblestone, sett
rectangular paving stone with curved top; once used to make roads; curbstone, kerbstone
a paving stone forming part of a curb; flag, flagstone
stratified stone that splits into pieces suitable as paving stones; impost, springer
the lowest stone in an arch -- from which it springs; stela, stele
an ancient upright stone slab bearing markings; whetstone
a flat stone for sharpening edged tools or knives; hone
a whetstone made of fine gritstone; used for sharpening razors; oilstone
a whetstone for use with oil

Type of:: building material
material used for constructing buildings

material consisting of the aggregate of minerals like those making up the Earth's crust

"stone is abundant in New England and there are many quarries"

Synonyms:: rock

Types:: show 52 types...; hide 52 types...; quartzite
hard metamorphic rock consisting essentially of interlocking quartz crystals; road metal
broken rock used for repairing or making roads; sedimentary rock
rock formed from consolidated clay sediments; argillite
a sedimentary rock differing from shale in being bound by silica and from slate in having no slate cleavages; arenaceous rock
a sedimentary rock composed of sand; argillaceous rock
a sedimentary rock formed from clay deposits; rudaceous rock
a sedimentary rock formed of coarse-grained material; slate
a fine-grained metamorphic rock that can be split into thin layers; limestone
a sedimentary rock consisting mainly of calcium that was deposited by the remains of marine animals; shale
a sedimentary rock formed by the deposition of successive layers of clay; sial
the granitelike rocks that form the outermost layer of the earth's crust; rich in silicon and aluminum; sima
rock that form the continuous lower layer of the earth's crust; rich in silicon and magnesium; metamorphic rock
rock altered by pressure and heat; amphibolite
a metamorphic rock composed chiefly of amphibole and plagioclase; marlite, marlstone
metamorphic rock with approximately the same composition as marl; hornfels, hornstone
a fine-grained metamorphic rock formed by the action of heat on clay rocks; gneiss
a laminated metamorphic rock similar to granite; schist
any metamorphic rock that can be split into thin layers; crushed rock, gravel
rock fragments and pebbles; ballast
coarse gravel laid to form a bed for streets and railroads; bank gravel, pit run, pit-run gravel
gravel as found in natural deposits; shingle
coarse beach gravel of small waterworn stones and pebbles (or a stretch of shore covered with such gravel); caliche
nitrate-bearing rock or gravel of the sodium nitrate deposits of Chile and Peru; shingling
(geology) sediment in which flat pebbles are uniformly tilted in the same direction; pumice, pumice stone
a light glass formed on the surface of some lavas; used as an abrasive; aphanite
fine-grained homogeneous rock (such as basalt) containing minerals undetectable by the naked eye; claystone
fine-grained rock consisting of compacted clay particles; dolomite
a kind of sedimentary rock resembling marble or limestone but rich in magnesium carbonate; emery rock, emery stone
a mixture of emery dust and a binder; can be molded into grindstones; conglomerate, pudding stone
a composite rock made up of particles of varying size; fieldstone
stone that occurs naturally in fields; often used as building material; greisen
a granitic rock composed of quartz and mica; calc-tufa, tufa
a soft porous rock consisting of calcium carbonate deposited from springs rich in lime; magma
molten rock in the earth's crust; igneous rock
rock formed by the solidification of molten magma; andesite
a dark grey volcanic rock; aplite
light-colored and fine-grained granitic rock consisting chiefly of quartz and feldspars; groundmass
(geology) the matrix of fine-grained crystalline material in which larger crystals are embedded; adesite
dark greyish extrusive rock; batholite, batholith, pluton, plutonic rock
large mass of intrusive igneous rock believed to have solidified deep within the earth; diorite
a granular crystalline intrusive rock; gabbro
one of a family of granular intrusive rocks; pegmatite
a form of igneous rock consisting of extremely coarse granite resulting from the crystallization of magma rich in rare elements; peridotite
a dark coarse-grained igneous rock consisting principally of olivine; rhyolite
very acid volcanic rock; volcanic rock
extrusive igneous rock solidified near or on the surface of the Earth; porphyritic rock, porphyry
any igneous rock with crystals embedded in a finer groundmass of minerals; limestone
a sedimentary rock consisting mainly of calcium that was deposited by the remains of marine animals; rottenstone, tripoli
a weathered and decomposed siliceous limestone; in powdered form it is used in polishing; marble
a hard crystalline metamorphic rock that takes a high polish; used for sculpture and as building material; verd antique, verde antique
a dark green impure marble; matrix
(geology) amass of fine-grained rock in which fossils, crystals, or gems are embedded

Type of:: material, stuff
the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object

a crystalline rock that can be cut and polished for jewelry

"she had jewels made of all the rarest stones"

Synonyms:: gem, gemstone

Types:: show 31 types...; hide 31 types...; cabochon
a highly polished gem that is cut convexly but without facets; opaque gem
a gemstone that is opaque; chrysoberyl
a rare hard yellow green mineral consisting of beryllium aluminate in crystal form; used as a gemstone; opal
a translucent mineral consisting of hydrated silica of variable color; some varieties are used as gemstones; cat's eye
any of various gems (as chrysoberyl or chalcedony) that reflect light when cut in a rounded shape; coral, precious coral, red coral
the hard stony skeleton of a Mediterranean coral that has a delicate red or pink color and is used for jewelry; jade, jadestone
a semiprecious gemstone that takes a high polish; is usually green but sometimes whitish; consists of jadeite or nephrite; jasper
an opaque form of quartz; red or yellow or brown or dark green in color; used for ornamentation or as a gemstone; lapis lazuli, lazuli
an azure blue semiprecious stone; turquoise
a blue to grey green mineral consisting of copper aluminum phosphate; transparent gem
a gemstone having the property of transmitting light without serious diffusion; garnet
any of a group of hard glassy minerals (silicates of various metals) used as gemstones and as an abrasive; amethyst
a transparent purple variety of quartz; used as a gemstone; aquamarine
a transparent variety of beryl that is blue green in color; calcedony, chalcedony
a milky or greyish translucent to transparent quartz; chrysolite
a brown or yellow-green olivine found in igneous and metamorphic rocks and used as a gemstone; chrysoprase
a green variety of chalcedony valued as a gemstone; citrine
semiprecious yellow quartz resembling topaz; adamant, diamond
very hard native crystalline carbon valued as a gem; emerald
a green transparent form of beryl; highly valued as a gemstone; kunzite
a pinkish lilac crystal form of the mineral spodumene that is used as a gemstone; moonstone
a transparent or translucent gemstone with a pearly luster; some specimens are orthoclase feldspar and others are plagioclase feldspar; morganite
a kind of pink beryl used as a gemstone; peridot
a pale green variety of chrysolite; used as a gemstone; ruby
a transparent deep red variety of corundum; used as a gemstone and in lasers; water sapphire
a deep blue cordierite often used as a gemstone; sapphire
a precious transparent stone of rich blue corundum valued as a gemstone; hiddenite
a green transparent form of the mineral spodumene used as a gemstone; aventurine, sunstone
a translucent quartz spangled with bits of mica or other minerals; topaz
a mineral (fluosilicate of aluminum) that occurs in crystals of various colors and is used as a gemstone; tourmaline
a mineral that is a complex borosilicate and hydroxide of aluminum containing iron and magnesium and calcium and lithium and sodium; it is usually black but occurs in transparent colored forms that are used as gemstones

Type of:: crystal
a solid formed by the solidification of a chemical and having a highly regular atomic structure

an avoirdupois unit used to measure the weight of a human body; equal to 14 pounds

"a heavy chap who must have weighed more than twenty stone"

Type of:: avoirdupois unit
any of the units of the avoirdupois system of weights

the hard inner (usually woody) layer of the pericarp of some fruits (as peaches or plums or cherries or olives) that contains the seed

"you should remove the stones from prunes before cooking"

Synonyms:: endocarp, pit

Types:: peach pit
the stone seed of a peach; cherry stone
the stone seed of a cherry

Type of:: pericarp, seed vessel
the ripened and variously modified walls of a plant ovary

a lack of feeling or expression or movement

"he must have a heart of stone"

"her face was as hard as stone"

Type of:: chilliness, coldness, coolness, frigidity, frigidness, iciness
a lack of affection or enthusiasm

Verbs

kill by throwing stones at

"People wanted to stone the woman who had a child out of wedlock"

Synonyms:: lapidate

Type of:: kill
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly

remove the pits from

Synonyms:: pit

Type of:: remove, take, take away, withdraw
remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract

Adjectives

of any of various dull tannish or grey colors

Synonyms:: chromatic
being or having or characterized by hue

Vocabulary Lists for stone

seamanly
squire
rum
stockade
clove hitch

piglet
wizard
Eureka
sawhorse
gargoyle

Edward I
Edward II
Bruce
Angus Og
Scots

accent
accompaniment
act
action
actor

archangel
astir
boar
bracken
capstan

environment
physical contact
physical contact
tangency
connectedness

goal
mole
stone
stove
choose

impasse
infinitesimal
sparkle
flinch
grimace

organ
pay
age
section
dress

jaunt
pleasurable
stone
quell
whetstone

Other Spellings