steppingstone
Americannoun
-
a stone, or one of a line of stones, in shallow water, a marshy place, or the like, that is stepped on in crossing.
-
a stone for use in mounting or ascending.
-
any means or stage of advancement or improvement.
She looked on the governorship as a steppingstone to the presidency.
Etymology
Origin of steppingstone
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325
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.
Jobs may have been a leading preacher of Silicon Valley’s gospel of failure as a steppingstone to success, but his own self-indulgence nearly turned NeXT into a trek to nowhere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
But if everything goes according to plan, the WBC will only be a steppingstone to something even bigger.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
Like Muniz, Breidinger sees the truck series, the third tier of NASCAR’s national racing series, as a steppingstone to a seat in a Cup car.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2025
The advance provides a steppingstone to the eventual construction of sophisticated, self-assembling devices at the nanoscale -- roughly the size of a single virus.
From Science Daily ● May 20, 2024
I uncovered a single steppingstone, slightly worn, that led nowhere, yet lay as a subtle ap-pendage to the small rock garden.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
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.
