milestone

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noun mile·stone \ ˈmī(-ə)l-ˌstōn \

Definition of milestone

1 :a stone serving as a milepost (see milepost 1)

2 :a significant point in development

Graduating from college was an important milestone in her life.

See milestone defined for English-language learners

See milestone defined for kids

Examples of milestone in a Sentence

the new drug was regarded as a milestone in the treatment of heart disease

Recent Examples of milestone from the Web

Beltre milestone update — Adrian Beltre added two more singled to his Hall of Fame resumé.

— stefan stevenson, star-telegram, "Rangers reaction glows over Joey Gallo, Martin Perez, Adrian Beltre," 9 Aug. 2017
That includes $1.6 billion in an upfront payment, plus $750 million for license options and up to $6.15 billion if the drug achieves regulatory and sales milestones.

— james paton, Bloomberg.com, "AstraZeneca Plunges After Setback in Crucial Lung-Cancer Drug Trial," 27 July 2017
FWS has tagged and tracked every condor and kept a record of its life milestones.

— kyle frischkorn, Smithsonian, "Behind the Scenes: Skinning Condors in the Name of Science," 26 July 2017
Last month marked another large milestone in Mogul’s long, storied career that began with serving in the Peace Corps and as a Baltimore public school teacher.

— nancy dahlberg, miamiherald, "Harve A. Mogul reflects on United Way career and philanthropy," 16 July 2017
Even the 276-page book of the exhibit marks a milestone as the largest for a contemporary show at the Speed.

— elizabeth kramer, The Courier-Journal, "Speed Art Museum's ambitious Southern Accent show is a 'jukebox experience'," 12 July 2017
Daddy Yankee's rise to the top of the charts marks a milestone for the Latin music industry.

— samantha schmidt, chicagotribune.com, "'Despacito' singer Daddy Yankee becomes first Latino artist to reach No. 1 on Spotify," 10 July 2017
The only member to not have achieved the milestone so far is Louis Tomlinson, whose duet with Steve Aoki reached no.

— ella ceron, Teen Vogue, "One Direction Join The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, and U2 on Billboard Record," 30 June 2017
Milestones, memories and musical mashups are all part of the plan as the Chicago Sinfonietta gets ready to celebrate its 30th anniversary season.

— kathy cichon, Naperville Sun, "Sinfonietta plans musical celebration to mark 30th anniversary season," 29 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'milestone.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of milestone

First Known Use of milestone

1662

milestone Synonyms

Synonyms

climacteric, climax, corner, landmark, milepost, turning point, watershed

Other Transportation Terms

camber, corduroy, demurrage

MILESTONE Defined for English Language Learners

milestone

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noun

Definition of milestone for English Language Learners

: a stone by the side of a road that shows the distance in miles to a specified place
: an important point in the progress or development of something : a very important event or advance