milestone

noun mile·stone \ ˈmī(-ə)l-ˌstōn \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

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

Meanwhile, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill celebrated a milestone with their first-ever nomination in the vocal duo of the year category.

— dave quinn, PEOPLE.com, "Everything to Know About the 2018 ACM Awards: From Nominees and Performers to How You Can Watch," 15 Apr. 2018
Hartenstein Reaches 200 Hits Meriden's Kyle Hartenstein, who last week became Mitchell's all-time hits leader, reached another milestone with his 200th career hit on Saturday.

— courant.com, "Regional Digest: Mitchell's Hartenstein Reaches 200 Hits," 7 Apr. 2018
But 2017 almost marked another milestone for America's original girl-next-door.

— carol motsinger, Cincinnati.com, "Doris Day celebrates her birthday - the correct one - with a party for pooches," 3 Apr. 2018
Of course there is value in learning the facts and figures about pregnancy from health-care providers: the checkpoints, myriad milestones, and how best to care for ourselves through the process.

— jessica zucker, SELF, "Please Stop Telling People Not to Share Their Pregnancy News Until It's 'Safe'," 29 Mar. 2018
That marks a milestone for the electric truck, which Tesla announced last November.

— megan geuss, Ars Technica, "Reader pics show Tesla Semi on I-680, en route from Gigafactory to Fremont," 9 Mar. 2018
The Fort Lauderdale chapter of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI marked the unfortunate milestone in Tamarac on Thursday, just as hundreds of other chapters across the country will do during the month of March.

— lisa j. huriash, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Bob Levinson has been missing in Iran for 11 years," 8 Mar. 2018
Bad Gal RiRi turned 30 yesterday and celebrated the major milestone with a swanky-but-private birthday bash in NYC with her family and close friends.

— erica gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Rihanna Celebrated Her 30th Birthday in an Epic Saint Laurent Look," 21 Feb. 2018
Action continued Tuesday at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea and the medals keep adding up for Team USA, which reached an historic milestone with Shaun White's gold medal in the snowboarding halfpipe competition.

— cheryl wray, AL.com, "Winter Olympics 2018 Medal Count: Shaun White's gold gets Team USA to historic 100 medals," 14 Feb. 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

milestone Synonyms

Synonyms

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

conversion, metamorphosis, transfiguration, transformation, turnabout, turnaround;

boiling point, breaking point, clutch, conjuncture, crisis, crossroad(s), crunch, emergency, head, juncture, zero hour;

Other Transportation Terms

camber, corduroy, demurrage

MILESTONE Defined for English Language Learners

milestone

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