milestone
Americannoun
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milestones
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
Scientists have reached a major milestone in the quest to build an entirely new kind of clock.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Manager Aaron Boone has survived nine seasons without a title, an unthinkable milestone in George’s time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Nvidia stock has broken through to new highs and the next milestone isn't that far off.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
His brother Gurpreet Singh Johal - who has lobbied successive governments calling for his release - said the decision to grant bail had been a "really important milestone".
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
But the naming of Hear’Say in 2001 was nevertheless a significant milestone on the road to punctuation anarchy.
From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author
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
"We had several milestones we had to pass, and at each point, this project could have failed."
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
The punishing selloff in bonds is driving Treasury yields to ever more eye-catching milestones, with the 30-year bond yield reaching a 24-year high.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Other research groups have recently reached similar milestones using different forms of quantum hardware.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
Assuming that the panda cub successfully meets the milestones of training, and that he remains healthy, he will be fitted with a radio collar for monitoring and moved to stage three—release into the wild habitat.
From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh
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.
