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Synonyms

capstone

American  
[kap-stohn] / ˈkæpˌstoʊn /

noun

  1. a finishing stone of a structure.

  2. the crowning achievement, point, element, or event.


capstone British  
/ ˈkəʊpˌstəʊn, ˈkæpˌstəʊn /

noun

  1. one of a set of slabs on the top of a wall, building, etc

  2. mountaineering a chockstone occurring at the top of a gully or chimney

  3. a crowning achievement; peak

    the capstone of his career

"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

Etymology

Origin of capstone

1350–1400; Middle English. See cap 1, stone

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.

Her inclusion will be more than a celebration, it will be a capstone of what she’s learned from the festival.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

"A capstone is intended to challenge students to integrate skills, function as an effective team and demonstrate their ability to solve real problems. And this problem was a doozy."

From Science Daily • Mar. 10, 2026

"The detention of Zhang Youxia was the capstone arrest of the greatest series of purges in the history of China's PLA," experts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote in a note.

From Barron's • Mar. 3, 2026

For Presler, it meant New Jersey wouldn’t be the capstone in his new persona.

From Slate • Dec. 8, 2025

For this, he needed equipment to manage intense radioactivities and, as a capstone, a nuclear reactor—the one nuclear technology that had eluded Lawrence’s grasp.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik