A Stone Is Fourteen Pounds in Britain
Stone is hard mineral matter, and in Britain a unit of weight. The unit is used almost nowhere else.
Stone is hard solid mineral matter, and in Britain a unit of weight equal to fourteen pounds. That unit is a peculiarity: British people give body weight in stones and pounds, Americans in pounds alone, and almost everyone else in kilograms. The word came from actual stones used as standard weights, and different trades once used stones of different sizes before fourteen pounds was fixed by statute in 1835. A *stone* is also a fruit pit, as in stone fruit.
- Mineral matter. *A stone wall.*
- A weight unit. *Twelve stone.*
- A fruit pit. *A peach stone.*
- A gemstone. *A precious stone.*
- Old English — *stan*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | stone | A stone. |
| Plural | stones | Stones. |
| Plural (weight) | stone | Ten stone. |
| Adjective | stony | Stony. |
| Verb | stone | Stone fruit. |
- The wall is built of local stone.Material.
- He weighs eleven stone.British weight.
- Remove the stones from the cherries.Fruit.
Stone in phrases
- Leave no stone unturned — search exhaustively
- A stone's throw — a short distance
- Set in stone — permanent and unchangeable
- Stone cold — completely cold, or completely certain
- Kill two birds with one stone — solve two problems at once
Old English *stan*, of Germanic origin, related to Dutch *steen* and German *Stein*.
How much is a stone?
Fourteen pounds, or about 6.35 kilograms. The value was fixed by statute in 1835 after centuries of variation between trades.
Who uses stones for weight?
Almost only Britain and Ireland, for body weight. Americans use pounds alone and most of the world uses kilograms.