cherry stones

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   The hard seeds found at the centre of cherries, which are not eaten and are usually spat out or removed before cooking.

   Grammar: Used in the plural for the leftovers from several fruits: the cherry stones were piled on her plate.

   Patterns

   • remove the cherry stones
   • spit out the cherry stones

   Remember to take out the cherry stones before you bake the clafoutis.

   The children held a contest to see who could spit their cherry stones the farthest.

   He found a few cherry stones at the bottom of the compost bin.

2. 2nounplural

   Dried cherry seeds sewn into a cloth bag, warmed in an oven or microwave and used to give long-lasting heat to a sore body part.

   Grammar: Often appears in the compound cherry stone pillow or bag, with the plural for the filling.

   Patterns

   • a bag filled with cherry stones

   My grandmother stuffed a cushion with cherry stones to ease her stiff neck.

   Warm cherry stones hold their heat for much longer than a hot-water bottle does.

   She washed and dried the cherry stones before filling the little cotton sack.

Word forms

Common combinations

spit out cherry stones

Nobody was allowed to spit out cherry stones near the picnic blanket.

pit or remove cherry stones

The recipe says to remove the cherry stones with a small knife.

a pile of cherry stones

A pile of cherry stones sat beside the empty bowl.

cherry stone pillow

A cherry stone pillow can be heated for a few minutes in the microwave.

crack open cherry stones

Some cooks crack open cherry stones to use the kernels for flavouring.

Synonyms and how they differ

cherry pits

This is the usual American wording for the same objects, while cherry stones sounds more British.

cherry seeds

Seeds is the broader botanical word and suits a science context, whereas cherry stones stresses the hard outer shell you actually see.

cherry pips

Pips is a British word for small seeds and feels a little less fitting for cherries, whose seed is bigger and harder than a pip.

Word family

stone noun

the hard seed case inside fruits such as cherries, plums and peaches

cherry noun

the small round red fruit that grows on a cherry tree

stoned adjective

describes fruit that has had its stone taken out

stone fruit noun

fruit with a single hard stone, such as plums or apricots

Commonly confused: cherry stones or cherry stoners?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “cherry stones”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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