Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: STEPPING-STONE |
STEPPING-STONENoun1. Fig.: A means of progress or advancement. 2. A stone to raise the feet above the surface of water or mud in walking. |
Date "STEPPING-STONE" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1812. (references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Connection | Noun: vinculum, link; connective, connection; junction; bond of union, copula, hyphen, intermedium; bracket; bridge, stepping-stone, isthmus. |
Instrumentality | Minister, handmaid; midwife, accoucheur, accoucheuse, obstetrician; gobetween; cat's-paw; stepping-stone. |
Preparation | Groundwork, first stone, cradle, stepping-stone; foundation, scaffold; (support); scaffolding, echafaudage. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: STEPPING-STONE |
| English words defined with "STEPPING-STONE": Sarn. (references) |
| Author | Quotation |
Thomas Carlyle | The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak becomes a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | South Africa | SA also provides a convenient and secure stepping-stone to the mineral opportunities in the countries of the SADC region. (references) |
South Africa | South Africa's market size of approximately 44 million people, infrastructure, and pro-business environment make it the logical choice for an increasing number of companies seeking a stepping-stone to conduct business on the continent. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "STEPPING-STONE" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 89.47% of the time. "STEPPING-STONE" is used about 19 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 89.47% | 17 | 85,106 |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 10.53% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Total | 100.00% | 19 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Language | Translations for "STEPPING-STONE"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 垫脚石. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | stepping-stone theorie (stepping-stone theory). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
French | théorie du marche-pied (stepping-stone theory). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Trittbrett-Theorie (stepping-stone theory). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | θεωρία της κλιμάκωσης (stepping-stone theory). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | ugródeszkának tekint vmit (to take sg as a stepping-stone). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | teoria del trampolino (stepping-stone theory). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 階梯 (guide, ladder, step). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | かいてい (bottom of the ocean, court session, guide, ladder, reform, revision, step, trial). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 족답하 돌. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | epping-stonestay teoria de la progresion toxicologica (stepping-stone theory). (various references) språngbräda (springboard, stepping stone), medel (agent, expedient, funds, instrumentation, means, money, stepping stone, wherewithal). (various references) b n đạp (treadle). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: steppingstone. | |
| Words within the letters "e-e-g-i-n-n-o-p-p-s-s-t-t" | |
-2 letters: pepsinogens. | |
-3 letters: pepsinogen, pipestones. | |
-4 letters: egestions, estopping, ineptness, intensest, nepotists, noisettes, penitents, penpoints, pensiones, pettiness, pipestone, sentients, spongiest, teosintes, tinstones. | |
-5 letters: egestion, egotists, epigones, epitopes, essonite, genoises, goneness, nepotist, nettings, noisette, openings, openness, osteites, penitent, penpoint, pensione, pensions, pentoses, pepsines, peptones, pestiest, pettings, pipettes, poetises, posteens, postings, postteen, potteens, sentient, settings, signpost, snippets, soppiest. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-e-g-i-n-n-o-p-p-s-s-t-t" | |
+1 letter: steppingstones. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Quotations: Familiar | 5. Quotations: Non-fiction 6. Usage Frequency 7. Translations: Modern 8. Anagrams | 9. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
