stone, rock, brick, pebble [noun] [de steen, de stenen] [‘steen‘] 

"Steen" can be used for the material, or a specific kind of stone. See the Examples. Check out the Expressions for figurative use of "steen".

Examples:
– "Heb je het al gehoord? Bij de buren is er een steen door het raam gegooid!"
("Have
you heard the news? A stone was thrown through the neighbours’ window!"
Lit. "Have you already heard it? At the neigbours a stone was …")

– "Er is een kostbare edelsteen gestolen uit de etalage."
("A precious stone / gemstone was stolen from the shop window.")

– "Vandalen hebben op de begraafplaats grafstenen omgegooid."
("Vandals have knocked over gravestones at the cemetery.")

– "Gisteravond was ik mijn sleutel vergeten, maar toen heb ik een
steentje tegen het raam gegooid om mijn vriendin wakker te maken."
("Last night I had forgotten my keys, but (then) I threw a small stone against the window in order to wake up my girlfriend.")

– "Zij heeft zo veel ellende meegemaakt dat haar hart nu van steen is."
("She has been through so much misery that by now her heart is of stone.")

Expressions:
– "Steengoed!": very good, very capable.
– "Steen en been klagen": to complain bitterly/loudly.
– "Zijn/haar steentje bijdragen": to contribute to something.
– "Een huishouden van Jan Steen": when your household is a mess, or
badly organised, one may compare it to "Jan Steen’s household". Well
not really: Jan Steen is a Dutch painter from the 17th century who is
well-known for his paintings of chaotic household scenes from those
times. These were quite popular and hence the proverb originated. You can also use it figuratively, i.e. not specifically for a household.

Related words:
– "Stenigen": to stone, to lapidate.
– "Baksteen": brick.
– "Kei": cobble(-stone), boulder.
– "Kiezel" or "Kiezelsteen": pebble.
– "Tegel": tile.
– "Rots": rock, boulder.
– "Beton": concrete.

1. excellent, outstanding [adjective] [‘uit-stee-kunt’] 

Literally, “uitstekend” translates to “sticking out” (see 2). It is however frequently used in its figurative meaning: “outstanding” or “excellent”.

Examples:
– “Hoe gaat het?” – “Uitstekend, dank je!”
(“How are you?” – “Excellent, thank you!”)

– “Uitstekend Smithers, uitstekend…”
(“Excellent Smithers, excellent…”)

– “Rosalie heeft gisteren een uitstekende presentatie gehouden.”
(“Rosalie gave an outstanding presentation yesterday.” Note that in Dutch the verb “houden” (to hold/keep) is used, but you can also use “geven”.)

– “Te koop: Peugeot 306, 1999, in uitstekende staat.”
(“For sale: Peugeot 306, 1999, in excellent condition.”)

Related words:
– “Schitterend”: brilliant.
– “Voortreffelijk”: excellent, superb.
– “Prima”: terrific, excellent, great.

2. sticking out, protruding [adjective] [‘uit-stee-kunt’]

“Uitstekend” comes from the verb “uitsteken”: to stick/put out. For some reason, when using it in its literal context, the emphasis shifts from the second syllable (see 1.) to the first…

Examples:
– “Pas op voor dat uitstekende randje.”
(“Watch out for that (little) edge sticking out.” Note the emphasis on the first syllable. If you would say: “…uitstekende randje” this would translate to “…excellent little edge” 🙂 )

– “Het buitenaardse wezen had allerlei rare uitstekende knobbels op zijn hoofd.”
(“The extraterrestial/alien had all kinds of weird protruding knobs on its head.” Lit.: “The extraterrestrial being…”)

Expression:
– “Zijn nek uitsteken”: to stick one’s neck out.

Related words:
– “Uithangen”: to hang out, to put out.
– “Uitsteken”: to protrude, to stick/put out.

Example:
– “Op 30 april steekt iedereen de vlag uit, want die dag is het Koninginnedag!”
(“Everybody puts out the flag on April 30th, because that day it’s Queen’s Day!”)