honed in
Narrowed the focus
Honed in is a common variant of "homed in," meaning to focus on or move toward a target: She honed in on the key issue.
The phrase likely arose from confusion with "hone," meaning to sharpen, which fits the metaphor of sharpening focus.
Traditionalists consider it an error, but it has become widespread in casual usage.
- zeroed inFocused with precision
- sharpenedMade more cutting
- razor sharpExtremely fine edge
- homingSteering toward a target
- locked onFixed attention firmly
pinpointing · aiming · laser focus · concentration · locating · acuity · tracking · pursuing · calibrating · perfecting · attention · exactitude · aligning · optimizing · adjusting · fine-tuning · directing · centering
engagement and approach
honed inbacked off
Withdrew from confrontation
pulled away · retreated · withdrew · disengaged · tuned out