touchstone
a test or criterion for the qualities of a thing.
a black siliceous stone formerly used to test the purity of gold and silver by the color of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal.
Origin of touchstone
1Other words for touchstone
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use touchstone in a sentence
You have to have several examples and touchstones to shift culture—not to mention the right real-world candidates.
Will There Ever Be a ‘Good Wife’ Effect on Politics? | Keli Goff | October 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTCountless essays, works of journalism, and touchstones of narrative nonfiction have shown us otherwise.
Someone like Sarah Silverman can elevate a rape joke by using black humor and referencing specific cultural touchstones.
Rainn Wilson, ‘2 Broke Girls,’ and the Rise of the Rape Joke | Tricia Romano | February 23, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTSelecting the touchstones in baseball's recent past was no simple task.
Marty Beckerman on the cultural touchstones, from James Frey to Paris Hilton, that ruined the new millennium.
Touchstones are useful in deciding the probable value of gold alloys.
The A B C of Mining | Charles A. BrambleWe have touchstones for all this, and every one makes use of them before making known the fruits of his labors.
The Positive Outcome of Philosophy | Joseph DietzgenPoverty and money; these two things are the touchstones of love, esteem, friendship.
Mortomley's Estate, Vol. III (of 3) | Charlotte Elizabeth Lawson Cowan RiddellWith principles, with touchstones, with standards, it has nothing whatever to do.
Ephemera Critica | John Churton CollinsThese debates have elicited a vast deal of talent, and have served as touchstones to try real merit and power.
The Greville Memoirs | Charles C. F. Greville
British Dictionary definitions for touchstone
/ (ˈtʌtʃˌstəʊn) /
a criterion or standard by which judgment is made
a hard dark siliceous stone, such as basalt or jasper, that is used to test the quality of gold and silver from the colour of the streak they produce on it
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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