cornerstone

[ kawr-ner-stohn ]

noun

1. a stone uniting two masonry walls at an intersection.
2. a stone representing the nominal starting place in the construction of a monumental building, usually carved with the date and laid with appropriate ceremonies.
3. something that is essential, indispensable, or basic:

   The cornerstone of democratic government is a free press.

4. the chief foundation on which something is constructed or developed:

   The cornerstone of his argument was that all people are created equal.

cornerstone

/ ˈkɔːnəˌstəʊn /

noun

1. a stone at the corner of a wall, uniting two intersecting walls; quoin
2. a stone placed at the corner of a building during a ceremony to mark the start of construction
3. a person or thing of prime importance; basis

   the cornerstone of the whole argument

Word History and Origins

Origin of cornerstone¹

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; corner, stone

Example Sentences

The bar has been a cornerstone of American culture from the very beginning.

From Fortune

A cornerstone of American elections has been the peaceful transition of power, but as research from the Transition Integrity Project and others underscores, there are multiple ways to contest an election.

From FiveThirtyEight

Many of the cornerstones of the TV advertising calendar have been canceled or disrupted, and there’s nothing to fill the gap.

From Digiday

GM is already building a nearly 3-million-square-foot factory that will mass produce Ultium battery cells and packs, the cornerstone of the company’s strategy to bring those electric vehicles to market in the next three years.

From TechCrunch

Cook has turned the app store into the cornerstone of a services division that he set out to expand four years ago.

From Fortune

Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Confederacy, summed up the Southern attitude in his 1861 Cornerstone Speech.

From The Daily Beast

The cornerstone of our democracy is that justice is to be colorblind in its administration.

From The Daily Beast

Giants are the cornerstone of the myths, legends, and traditions of almost every culture on Earth.

From The Daily Beast

Back then, property was understood by universal consensus as a foundational cornerstone of human liberty and a life worth living.

From The Daily Beast

The character-building cornerstone of American life has lately come under fire for ills ranging from racism to concussions.

From The Daily Beast

To lose our privileges would be to lose the very cornerstone of our liberty.

From Project Gutenberg

The Saratoga trunk is not the best cornerstone for the home: so much we may take for granted.

From Project Gutenberg

They went as a team and gave me about as much chance to escape as if I'd been a horned toad sealed in a cornerstone.

From Project Gutenberg

Pizarro was now very busy in developing the new country he had conquered, and in laying the cornerstone of a nation.

From Project Gutenberg

Confidence—a justified confidence—is therefore the cornerstone of morale.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• essential
• foundation
• keystone
• linchpin
• mainstay
• pillar