- Also called: pumice stone
a light porous acid volcanic rock having the composition of rhyolite, used for scouring and, in powdered form, as an abrasive and for polishing
- (transitive)
to rub or polish with pumice
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
pum•ice /ˈpʌmɪs/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- [uncountable]
- Rocksa rough or sometimes spongy rock, a form of volcanic glass, used to clean or smooth objects.
pum•ice
(pum′is),USA pronunciation n., v., -iced, -ic•ing.
n.
v.t.
pu•mi•ceous
(pyo̅o̅ mish′əs),USA pronunciation adj.
pum′ic•er, n.
n.
- RocksAlso called pum′ice stone′. a porous or spongy form of volcanic glass, used as an abrasive.
v.t.
- to rub, smooth, clean, etc., with pumice.
- Latin), in pumicstān pumice stone; see pounce3
- Latin; compare Old English pumic- (
- Middle French pomis
- Latin pūmic-, stem of pūmex pumice stone; replacing Middle English pomis(e), pomish(e), pomice
- bef. 1000;
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'pumice stone' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):