hone

Object

• skill: Camps offer a chance to hone skills in horse riding, or football, or event to study for exams.
• craft: And despite spending years and years honing the craft of making silent movies ( Modern Times being my pe.. .
• talent: Intensive training has honed the talent of Queens ' 2nd and 3rd teams, but as yet 1st round fixtures have not been played.
• technique: The river tho is perfect for honing technique before moving on to more difficult water.
• sound: They spent the next few years honing an atmospheric rock sound in their native Toronto and the dynamic was great.
• ability: Each event needs its own individual skills, and a practice option gives the chance to hone abilities before joining the competition proper.

Subject

• year: Its public order tactics honed by years of experience are the envy of the world.
• experience: That was a healthy dose of realism ( honed by bitter experience?

Preposition: over

• year: To see a magician of this caliber perform the act he has honed over forty years, is a rare opportunity.

Modifying Another Word

• finely: Watching the world around you isn't a finely honed skill; it's more like flicking on a light switch.
• continually: Ball control Practice makes perfect, the old saying goes, and I'm a keen exponent of continually honing my skills.
• carefully: By any standards, it's an exhausting program of races that would challenge the most carefully honed athlete.
• well: Well honed account management skills which lead to repeat contracts.
• certainly: Over the years lenders have certainly honed their ability to charge for PPI.
• really: I did some DJ-ing in my spare time, but didn't have enough time to practice and really hone my skills.

Followed by an intransitive particle

• down: The slabs have honed down to a mellow soft color.
• up: Hone up on some real footie trivia to bore or dazzle your friends.

Followed by a transitive particle

• down: Space is probably the most legitimate case for honing things down to the essentials.

Preposition: by

• year: Its public order tactics honed by years of experience are the envy of the world.
• experience: That was a healthy dose of realism ( honed by bitter experience?