Keystone Meaning
/ˈkiː.stəʊn/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe top stone of an arch.
nounSomething on which other things depend for support.
Sentence Examples
Environmentalists are opposing the Keystone XL pipeline.
Sex appeal is the keystone of our civilization.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ is the final stone placed at the top of an arch to support the structure.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The middle stone at the top of an arch is called the ____, and it holds all the other stones in place.
Word Origin & History
From key + stone. Definition 4 (retail) possibly originated in the jewelry industry in the magazine called "Jewelers' Circular-Keystone".
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The tunnel, which is 1,000 yd. long, had been closed to passenger traffic since November 17, 1949, after some of the keystones had worked loose."
— 1950 March, “Notes and News: Sugar Loaf Tunnel, Central Wales Line”, in Railway Magazine, page 209:
"Tension between empirical and theoretical knowledge is keystone to sociological and to organizational theories, as early as in Marx's and Weber's frameworks."
— 1999, Eliezer Geisler, Methodology, Theory, and Knowledge in the Managerial and Organizational ...:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ is the final stone placed at the top of an arch to support the structure.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The middle stone at the top of an arch is called the ____, and it holds all the other stones in place.