touchstone — a standard or criterion by which something is judged or recognized
Part of speech: NOUN
Definition: a standard or criterion by which something is judged or recognized
Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈtʌtʃstoʊn/
Example Sentences
- His grandmother's cooking remained the touchstone for all family recipes.
- The professor's impossible pop quiz became the touchstone of student nightmares.
- Customer satisfaction surveys serve as our touchstone for service improvement.
touchstone
NOUN[/ˈtʌtʃstoʊn/]
a standard or criterion by which something is judged or recognized
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From Middle English, literally meaning a black stone used to test the purity of gold and silver by rubbing the metal against it. The stone would reveal the quality of the precious metal through color changes, leading to the figurative meaning of 'a standard for testing quality.'
Breakdown
touch (to make contact with) + stone (hard mineral), creating a compound word referring to the testing stone that metals were touched against
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“His grandmother's cooking remained the touchstone for all family recipes.”
“The professor's impossible pop quiz became the touchstone of student nightmares.”
“Customer satisfaction surveys serve as our touchstone for service improvement.”
“My cat's reaction to new people has become my touchstone for judging character—she's never wrong!”
📚Related Words
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