milestone

CEFRC1

/ˈmaɪlˌstoʊn/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    An important event or stage in someone's progress.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    An important event in a person's life or career, in the history of a nation, in the life of some project, etc.

Examples

  • That day was an important milestone in our project.

  • It's an important milestone for her.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
3
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /ˈmaɪlstəʊn/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. To place milestones along (a road, etc.).

  2. A stone milepost (or by extension in other materials), one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road at regular intervals, typically at the side of the road or in a median.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To plan out a project as a series of major steps.

More examples

In context

  • Death is another milestone on their way.

  • Creating a complete map of the human connectome would therefore be a monumental milestone but not the end of the journey to understanding how our brains work.

  • She bought the model as a surprise gift for a friend who is a lifelong HST fan and railwayman, and who will soon be celebrating a milestone birthday.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Graduating from college was a major blank in her successful life.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From mile + stone. Compare Dutch mijlsteen (“milestone”), German Low German Mielensteen (“milestone”), German Meilenstein (“milestone”), Swedish milsten (“milestone”).