hone in

verb

honed in; honing in; hones in

intransitive verb

: to move toward or focus attention on an objective

looking back for the ball honing in

—George Plimpton

a missile honing in on its target

—Bob Greene

hones in on the plights and victories of the common man

—Lisa Russell

Hone in vs. Home in: Usage Guide

Most usage commentators consider hone in to be a mistake for home in. The use may have arisen from home in by the weakening of the \m\ sound to \n\ or it may have developed simply because of the influence of hone, with perhaps an underlying sense that "honing" figuratively involves a narrowing or sharpening of focus. Whatever the explanation of its origins, it has established itself in American English and has begun to make a few inroads into British English as well. Even so, your use of it especially in writing is likely to be called a mistake. Home in or in figurative use zero in is an easy alternative.

Examples of hone in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While the wellness club concept is largely anchored on community and social interaction, Grey Wolfe in West London hones in on hyper-personalization of wellness programs. —Bianca Salonga, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025

During the segment, cameras even honed in on Johansson to capture her reaction. —Liza Esquibias, People.com, 17 Feb. 2025

Some include complaints over Missouri’s handling of chronic wasting disease among deer, while others hone in on allegations of local government corruption or the requirement that vehicles have two license plates. —Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 14 Feb. 2025

Investors also honed in on Apple, which exceeded fiscal first-quarter expectations. —Lisa Kailai Han,alex Harring, CNBC, 30 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of home in

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hone in

• santonin
• calcitonin
• digitonin
• melatonin
• serotonin
• kronen
• onan
• phonon
• ronin