stepping stone
Britishnoun
-
one of a series of stones acting as footrests for crossing streams, marshes, etc
-
a circumstance that assists progress towards some goal
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.
“For the property-management industry, this means our focus should shift toward creating communities that provide stability and well-being, rather than just acting as a stepping stone to a mortgage.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
In Senegal, fishmeal has put local fishers out of work, so they increasingly are selling — or repurposing — their boats to ferry migrants to Spain’s Canary Islands, a stepping stone to Europe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
The U.K. government has said it wants the platform to “act as a stepping stone for companies eyeing a listing in future preparing and easing the journey to an IPO.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
"The Moon is a kind of touchstone for us - and an important conceptual stepping stone on our way to Mercury."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
That’s when I notice a crate, a stepping stone to the top of the wall.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
