as in cornerstone
an immaterial thing upon which something else rests
a sense of history is the keystone to the city's draw as a tourist destination
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Recent Examples of keystone
The administration's extraordinary action would remove a keystone of the country's climate regulation just as the world experiences unprecedented heat and climate-driven extreme weather disasters.
—
Jeff Young, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
For many clients, something as simple as a daily walk becomes a keystone habit that influences sleep, stress levels, food choices, and energy throughout the day.
—Malana Vantyler, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2025
The New Yorker’s founding editor, Harold Ross, regarded The Talk of the Town as the keystone of each issue, and sent as much of it as possible through White’s typewriter.
—Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2025
At the time it was considered the keystone in Oceanside’s downtown renaissance, part of an effort to bring more people and commercial activity to the area.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for keystone
Jeff Young, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
For many clients, something as simple as a daily walk becomes a keystone habit that influences sleep, stress levels, food choices, and energy throughout the day.
—Malana Vantyler, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2025
The New Yorker’s founding editor, Harold Ross, regarded The Talk of the Town as the keystone of each issue, and sent as much of it as possible through White’s typewriter.
—Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2025
At the time it was considered the keystone in Oceanside’s downtown renaissance, part of an effort to bring more people and commercial activity to the area.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for keystone
Recent Examples of Synonyms for keystone
Noun
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Together, these trends have turned industrial space into a cornerstone of national logistics and digital capacity.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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The following spring, the Bills moved up in the draft to select a quarterback who became a cornerstone, and optimism ran high going into 2018.—
Dan Pompei,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Throughout the spring and deep into training camp, Williams felt the flames of Johnson’s intensity almost on an hourly basis.—
Dan Wiederer,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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But the department has argued the sheer volume of documents that need to be found, uploaded, reviewed, redacted and published has forced it to instead release the files online on a rolling basis, with a series of enormous document dumps over the course of several days in mid-December.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The discovery revealed how genetic information is stored and replicated and created the foundation for modern genetic engineering, disease treatment with genes and DNA identification techniques, according to The Associated Press.—
Sophia Compton,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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Items like mascara and eyeliner have shorter lifespans due to their potential for bacteria, while blush, foundation, and concealer might be okay for more prolonged use.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The mikveh, hewn into the bedrock, measures approximately 10 feet long, 4 feet, 5 inches wide and 6 feet, 1 inch high, with four steps leading into the bath.—
Andrew Silow-Carroll,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Jan. 2026
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Local government as a bedrock for getting results.—
Matt Schooley,
CBS News,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Keystone.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keystone. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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