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guidepost

[gahyd-pohst]
See more synonyms for guidepost on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a post, usually mounted on the roadside or at the intersection of two or more roads, bearing a sign for the guidance of travelers.
  2. anything serving as a guide; guideline.
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Origin of guidepost

First recorded in 1755–65; guide + post1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for guidepost

Historical Examples

  • Then they walked to the angle of the roads where the guidepost stood.

    The Shadow of a Crime

    Hall Caine

  • General Grant was the guidepost of a victorious war, and a landmark of a magnanimous peace.

  • About half a mile from the town a guidepost and two roads, to Edinburgh and Glasgow; we took the left-hand road, to Glasgow.

  • All language can achieve is to act as a guidepost to the imagination enabling the reader to recreate the author's insight.

    A Preface to Politics

    Walter Lippmann

British Dictionary definitions for guidepost

guidepost

noun
  1. a sign on a post by a road indicating directions
  2. a principle or guideline
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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

Word Origin and History for guidepost

n.

also guide-post, 1761, from guide (v.) + post (n.1).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper