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steppingstone

step·ping·stone
S s

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [step-ing-stohn]
    • /ˈstɛp ɪŋˌstoʊn/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [step-ing-stohn]
    • /ˈstɛp ɪŋˌstoʊn/

Definitions of steppingstone word

  • noun steppingstone a stone, or one of a line of stones, in shallow water, a marshy place, or the like, that is stepped on in crossing. 1
  • noun steppingstone a stone for use in mounting or ascending. 1
  • noun steppingstone any means or stage of advancement or improvement: She looked on the governorship as a steppingstone to the presidency. 1
  • noun steppingstone a stone, usually one of a series, used to step on, as in crossing a stream or soft turf 0
  • noun steppingstone something used to better one's position or situation; means of advancement 0
See all 5 definitions of steppingstone

Information block about the term

Origin of steppingstone

First appearance:

before 1275
One of the 13% oldest English words
Middle English word dating back to 1275-1325

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Steppingstone

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Steppingstone

steppingstone popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 51% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
According to our data about 50% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

steppingstone usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

See also

Matching words

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