milestone

[ mahyl-stohn ]
See synonyms for: milestonemilestones on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a stone functioning as a milepost.

  2. a significant event or stage in the life, progress, development, or the like of a person, nation, etc.: Her getting the job of supervisor was a milestone in her career.

Origin of milestone

1
First recorded in 1740–50; mile + stone

Words Nearby milestone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use milestone in a sentence

  • The force of such idealization helped to carry forward the human race to a new milestone on the path of progress.

  • In 1771 a Roman milestone of the time of Hadrian (76-138) was discovered at a spot two miles from Leicester.

    The Towns of Roman Britain | James Oliver Bevan
  • He saw my look and said, "Oops, I mean this milestone in paper technology once it is announced to the world."

    The Professional Approach | Charles Leonard Harness
  • And I ask myself again, Is75 this a new phase of life into which I have entered,—a new milestone left behind?

    The Wasted Generation | Owen Johnson
  • This has been interpreted as the inscription of a certain Notus; but others have regarded it as simply a Roman milestone.

    The Cornwall Coast | Arthur L. Salmon

British Dictionary definitions for milestone

milestone

/ (ˈmaɪlˌstəʊn) /


noun
  1. a stone pillar that shows the distance in miles to or from a place

  2. a significant event in life, history, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012