stepping stone

See also: steppingstone and stepping-stone

English

Alternative forms

• stepping-stone

Etymology

First attested circa 1325; first used in the figurative sense circa 1653.

Pronunciation

• enPR: stĕpʹĭng-stōn′

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Noun

stepping stone (plural stepping stones)

1. A stone that can be stepped on in crossing something, especially a marsh or creek.
2. (idiomatic) Something used as a way to progress to something or somewhere else.
   • He was full of ambition, and force, and life, intending all sorts of great things, and meaning to make his position a stepping stone to all that was excellent in public life.
   • Esperanto can make a good stepping stone language to Latin, which may be difficult for amateur linguists.

Synonyms

• means
• way

Related terms

• milestone

Translations

stone used to cross something

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 墊腳石／垫脚石 (zh) (diànjiǎoshí), 垫脚石 (zh) (diànjiǎoshí)

• Danish: trædesten (da) c
• Finnish: askelkivi
• French: see pas japonais (fr) and gué (fr)
• German: Trittstein (de) m
• Icelandic: stiklur f pl
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Indonesian: batu loncatan (id)
• Italian: sasseto m, selciaia f, acciottolato (it) m
• Japanese: 飛び石 (とびいし, tobiishi)
• Russian: ка́мень, поло́женный для перехо́да m (kámenʹ, polóžennyj dlja perexóda) (no exact term exists), ка́мень-присту́пка m (kámenʹ-pristúpka)
• Scottish Gaelic: clacharan m
• Tagalog: batong tuntungan

something used as a way to progress

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 墊腳石／垫脚石 (zh) (diànjiǎoshí), 垫脚石 (zh) (diànjiǎoshí)

• Danish: springbræt n, trædesten (da) c
• Finnish: ponnahduslauta (fi), astinlauta (fi)
• French: marchepied (fr) m, tremplin (fr) m, palier (fr) m
• German: Sprungbrett (de) n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: ugródeszka (hu)
• Icelandic: stökkpallur m
• Indonesian: batu loncatan (id)
• Italian: viatico (it) m, trampolino di lancio m, trampolino (it) m
• Russian: ступе́нька (ru) f (stupénʹka), трампли́н (ru) m (tramplín), ста́ртовая площа́дка f (stártovaja ploščádka), плацда́рм (ru) m (placdárm)
• Tagalog: batong tuntungan