Stepping-stone
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Alternative form of stepping stone. alt-of, alternative
"As I have said, it is not the intention of the Bundesbahn to use the diesel as a stepping-stone between steam and electric traction—a policy which, in the light of the excellent results obtained with modernised steam locomotives, it regards as uneconomical and unnecessary."
Example
More examples"When she came to the path through the marsh a great part of it was wet and muddy, she threw the loaf into the mud for a stepping-stone, to get over with dry shoes."
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.