milestone
Americannoun
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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.
What remains has now been restored and assembled by Milestone Films in a version whose narrative incoherence is balanced by its outrageousness.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
Private equity smells blood: Milestone Group, for example, just closed a $1.1 billion fund targeting distressed properties.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 6, 2025
Shasta, six of which required search-and-rescue teams on the ground and nine of which were completed using CHP Northern Air Operations to extract hikers via helicopter, Milestone said.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2025
Footage from Milestone School and College in the northern suburb of Uttara shows a huge fire and thick smoke, after the aircraft slammed into a two-storey building.
From BBC • Jul. 21, 2025
“Pray, sir,” said Mr Milestone, “by what name do you distinguish this character, when a person walks round the grounds for the second time?”
From Headlong Hall by Peacock, Thomas Love
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.
