cornerstone
noun
cor·ner·stone
ˈkȯr-nər-ˌstōn 
1
: a stone forming a part of a corner or angle in a wall
specifically
: such a stone laid at a formal ceremony
2
: a basic element : foundation
a cornerstone of foreign policy
Examples of cornerstone in a Sentence
Officials held a ceremony to lay the cornerstone for a new library.
Trust is the cornerstone of their relationship.
Recent Examples on the Web
Informed consent – or the idea patients have the right to make independent and informed decisions about their own bodies and healthcare outcomes – is a cornerstone of modern medicine.
—
Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Allen and James Cook are two excellent cornerstones for the offense.
—Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
One cornerstone is Bayesian optimization, an active-learning strategy that greedily picks the next best experiment.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2025
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have long been cornerstones of innovation at EA — powering everything from intelligent gameplay and real-time animation to physics simulation, pathfinding solutions, and more efficient development pipelines.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cornerstone
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Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Allen and James Cook are two excellent cornerstones for the offense.
—Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
One cornerstone is Bayesian optimization, an active-learning strategy that greedily picks the next best experiment.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2025
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have long been cornerstones of innovation at EA — powering everything from intelligent gameplay and real-time animation to physics simulation, pathfinding solutions, and more efficient development pipelines.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cornerstone
Cite this Entry
“Cornerstone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cornerstone. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cornerstone
noun
cor·ner·stone
ˈkȯr-nər-ˌstōn
1
: a stone forming part of a corner in a wall
2
: something of basic importance
the cornerstone of our foreign policy
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