Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hone in

/hoʊn ɪn/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.17 in modern English

Syllables: hone-in
IPA: /hoʊn ɪn/

9

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

Alternative form of home in.

Example Sentences

"More than half of those are completely ignored by de Róiste. He hones in on only 400 of those, scattered around the country."
"On June 12th The Economist’s pages featured an activist investor “honing in on the dearth of energy experience” on a company’s board. A few readers honed in on a solecism: […]"
"The mainstream media hones in on bad news stories where UK railways are concerned, yet gives scant attention to the many items of good news emerging from the network."

Etymology

By confusion between hone and home.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /hoʊn ɪn/
British English: /həʊn ɪn/

Inflected Forms

hones in (present, singular) honing in (participle, present) honed in (participle, past) honed in (past)

Questions

How do you pronounce hone in?: The recorded pronunciation is /hoʊn ɪn/.
What does hone in mean?: Alternative form of home in.
Where does hone in come from?: By confusion between hone and home.

How to pronounce hone in

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hone in”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/hoʊn ɪn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “hone in”.
Repeat and practice — Say “hone in” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.