A weight which legally is fourteen pounds, but in practice
varies with the article weighed. 14 lbs. (primarily used for
people's weight) a traditional British unit of weight, rarely
used in the U.S. Originally the stone varied in size, both from
place to place and according to the nature of the item being
weighed. A stone of sugar was traditionally 8 pounds, while a
stone of wool could be as much as 24 pounds. Eventually the
stone was standardized at 14 pounds avoirdupois or approximately
6.350 29 kilograms -- a convenient size because it makes the
stone equal to exactly 1/2 quarter or 1/8 hundredweight. Today
the stone is used mostly for stating the weight of persons or
animals. No -s is added for the plural. United States filmmaker
(born in 1946) The hard endocarp of drupes; as, the stone of a
cherry or peach. See Illust. of Endocarp. To free from stones;
also, to remove the seeds of; as, to stone a field; to stone
cherries; to stone raisins. woody endocarp ( q.v.) of a drupe (
q.v.) a hard woody structure