stone

The word “stone” means a hard natural material, or a piece of it, such as rock or a pebble. In plain terms, a piece of rock, a gem, a fruit pit, or (in the UK) a unit of body weight equal to 14 pounds.

“Stone” is pronounced stohn (/stoʊ̯n/ in IPA).

Here is “stone” used in a sentence: “He skipped a flat stone across the lake.”

Words with a similar meaning to “stone” include hard stone-like deposit.

Depending on how it is used, “stone” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “stone” comes from Old English. From Old English stan, from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to stiffen" — related to "stain" and "stein.".

“Stone” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Stone” has 5 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a hard natural material, or a piece of it, such as rock or a pebble.

The terms overlap, but a rock is generally larger and part of the earth's solid mass, while a stone is a smaller, often loose piece you can pick up or handle. In everyday use, a stone is what you might throw or build with, whereas a rock suggests something bigger and heavier.

Geologists group stone into three families: igneous, such as granite; sedimentary, such as limestone and sandstone; and metamorphic, such as marble and slate. In everyday terms, people also speak of building stone, precious stones or gems, and small stones like pebbles and gravel.

Yes. Beyond rock, stone can mean a gem, as in a precious stone; the hard seed inside fruits like cherries; a British unit of weight equal to fourteen pounds; and a hard mineral mass in the body, such as a kidney stone. Context makes the intended sense clear.