milestone
Americannoun
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milestones
plural
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a stone functioning as a milepost.
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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.
noun
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a stone pillar that shows the distance in miles to or from a place
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a significant event in life, history, etc
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of milestone
Explanation
A milestone is a significant event in your life. Often a milestone marks the start of a new chapter. For example, the day you graduated from high school was a milestone in your life. Milestone literally refers to a roadside marker that lists the distance to a particular location. These days, the word is more often used figuratively to refer to significant events in life, like graduating from college or getting married. It acts sort of like the road sign: it's often a moment when you reflect on where you stand in life. A milestone can also be a nonpersonal event that results in a big change, such as a milestone victory or a company's sales milestone.
Vocabulary lists containing milestone
Prisoner B-3087
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Nelson Mandela "I am Prepared to Die" (1964)
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History is made in PA: Clinton's DNC Acceptance Speech
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
To the aficionado, however, it marked a milestone.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
"This year's breeding success is another important milestone in the return of this lost species to England; it shows what can be achieved by very skilled wildlife managers," Roy Dennis OBE from the foundation said.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Escalating fears over energy prices and inflation drove the 10-year yield above 5% Monday, a pivotal milestone that is forcing investors to confront whether the bond market is entering a new era.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
California regulators certified a union representing Uber and Lyft drivers, marking a milestone in a years-long fight by gig workers in the state.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
The year 1943 also marked a milestone in Marian’s personal life.
From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman
For “high-risk, high-reward” areas of the AI trade such as next-generation optical connectivity, returns depend on meeting technology milestones, Susanto said, and that’s “why volatility and speculation there are so elevated.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
She remains awed that the show’s viewers — most of whom don’t agree with her politics — have acknowledged her personal milestones with warm greetings and homemade gifts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Along the way, the bond markets have crossed milestones unseen in months, and even years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
The French president on Thursday laid out a series of milestones he wants Europe to reach over the next decade.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
She asked if Maribel had met her developmental milestones as a child.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
