milestone

American  

[mahyl-stohn] / ˈmaɪlˌstoʊn /

noun

• milestones
  plural

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.

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milestone British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• milestones
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of milestone

First recorded in 1740–50; mile + stone

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

milestone milestones

This allowed us to update the findings from our milestone 2008 global burden study.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

“Yet as Leon’s mom too, every milestone, accomplishment, and birthday that Ari reaches is shadowed by the realization that Leon should be experiencing just as much of life, by his brother’s side.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

And it is being considered a "hugely significant milestone" by those running a project to boost golden eagle numbers in the region.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Citi has received approval from Chinese regulators to set up a wholly owned securities company in China, a milestone in its yearslong effort to deepen its presence in the country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Between the lights and the ever-present blue ghosts of the Columbian Guard, the fair achieved another milestone: For the first time Chicagoans could stroll at night in perfect safety.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

The company had lowered its full-year outlook earlier this month to factor in acquired in-process research and development and milestones expenses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

"It provides manageable milestones for pupils, structuring it like that," McGinn said.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

CoreWeave can draw from those credit lines, either based on timelines or project milestones, such as the completed construction of a data center.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

But she warned that school readiness could become a source of anxiety for families and said it was important to recognise that children reached milestones at different speeds.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

The same was true of my other milestones: moments that had nothing to do with calendars.

From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk

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Related Words

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