milestone

[ mahyl-stohn ]

noun

1. a stone functioning as a milepost.
2. 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.

milestone

/ ˈmaɪlˌstəʊn /

noun

1. a stone pillar that shows the distance in miles to or from a place
2. a significant event in life, history, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of milestone¹

First recorded in 1740–50; mile + stone

Example Sentences

The oil and gas industry just passed another milestone in the global energy transition.

From Quartz

While barocaloric materials are less susceptible to fatigue than elastocaloric materials, the new milestones required colossal pressures of thousands of atmospheres.

From Quanta Magazine

During the last quarter, The New York Times reported the same milestone.

From Digiday

More than 4,800 alumni and friends gathered online May 29–31 to celebrate class milestones, explore alumni achievements and faculty research, compete in a trivia face-off, and more.

From MIT Technology Review

The market spent the past few days within striking distance of a new high, but falling short of the milestone, until the last minutes of trading Tuesday.

From Fortune

That would truly be a milestone to celebrate—until you see what that record “diversity” actually means.

From The Daily Beast

A multi-faceted approach to ensuring students reach the critical milestone of grade level reading by fourth grade.

From The Daily Beast

The regal technological milestone was passed as the Queen attended the opening of  a new gallery at the Science Museum in London.

From The Daily Beast

In fact, with my most recent birthday, I passed the milestone of having come out of the closet over half my lifetime ago.

From The Daily Beast

The moment he was finally able to loop a knot by himself was a milestone, his first step to becoming a man.

From The Daily Beast

The force of such idealization helped to carry forward the human race to a new milestone on the path of progress.

From Project Gutenberg

In 1771 a Roman milestone of the time of Hadrian (76-138) was discovered at a spot two miles from Leicester.

From Project Gutenberg

He saw my look and said, "Oops, I mean this milestone in paper technology once it is announced to the world."

From Project Gutenberg

And I ask myself again, Is75 this a new phase of life into which I have entered,—a new milestone left behind?

From Project Gutenberg

This has been interpreted as the inscription of a certain Notus; but others have regarded it as simply a Roman milestone.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• anniversary
• breakthrough
• discovery
• event
• landmark
• occasion
• turning point