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hone

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hone

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++hone /həʊn $ hoʊn/ verb [transitive]  1 IMPROVEto improve your skill at doing something, especially when you are already very good at it 磨炼,训练;提高〔技艺〕 He set about honing his skills as a draughtsman. 他着手提高自己的绘画技艺。 finely honed (=extremely well-developed) intuition 极度发达的直觉2. formalSHARP to make knives, swords etc sharp 磨〔刀、剑等〕 SYN sharpen→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
honeSo things were changed, honed down, made to appear not quite so militaristic.It was during this period that Bush honed his diplomatic skills.The student has to hone his skills to develop the power and speed to push the material past that limit.Mark accepted this and used the waiting period to improve relationships and hone his skills.It honed in on the prototypical shape that was behind all the degraded images.An election could come at any time, and policies across the board were being honed in readiness.honing ... skillsIt suited my wandering nature, my penchant for traversing the neighborhoods of San Francisco, honing my skills as a boulevardier.I left for school before most kids were up, honing those high-achievement skills early.
Origin hone (1800-1900) hone stone for making things sharp ((14-19 centuries)), from Old English hon stone
hone verbChinese
your skill something, improve Corpus to doing at


hone
hone /həʊn $ hoʊn/ verb [transitive]
 Date: 1800-1900
 Origin: hone 'stone for making things sharp' (14-19 centuries), from Old English hon 'stone'
1. to improve your skill at doing something, especially when you are already very good at it:
    He set about honing his skills as a draughtsman.
    finely honed (=extremely well-developed) intuition
2. formal to make knives, swords etc sharp
   SYN  sharpen


honeBrE /həʊn/ 🔊NAmE /hoʊn/ 🔊 verbpresent simple - I / you / we / they hone BrE /həʊn/ 🔊 NAmE /hoʊn/ 🔊present simple - he / she / it hones BrE /həʊnz/ 🔊 NAmE /hoʊnz/ 🔊past simple honed BrE /həʊnd/ 🔊 NAmE /hoʊnd/ 🔊past participle honed BrE /həʊnd/ 🔊 NAmE /hoʊnd/ 🔊 -ing form honing BrE /ˈhəʊnɪŋ/ 🔊 NAmE /ˈhoʊnɪŋ/ 🔊to develop and improve sth, especially a skill, over a period of time 磨炼,训练(尤指技艺)~ sth She honed her debating skills at college. 她在大学时便练就了辩论技巧。🔊🔊It was a finely honed piece of writing. 那是一篇经过仔细推敲写成的文章。🔊🔊~ sth to sth His body was honed to perfection. 他的身体锻炼得十全十美。🔊🔊~ sth (to sth) to make a blade sharp or sharper 磨(刀);把(刀)磨快 SYN sharpen