1. the act of scrubbing a ship’s deck with a holystone
Usage: nautical

1. to scrub a ship’s deck with a holystone
Usage: nautical

Examples

• The sailors spent the morning holystoning the deck until it was spotless.
• Holystoning was a daily routine aboard naval vessels.
• The crew was holystoning the wooden planks with sand and water.
• After holystoning, the deck gleamed in the sunlight.
• The captain ordered holystoning to prepare for inspection.
• Holystoning required sailors to kneel while scrubbing the deck.