cornerstone
/ˈkɔɹ.nɚ.stoʊn/ noun B2- A stone forming the base at the corner of a building.
- Such a stone used ceremonially, often inscribed with the architect's and owner's names, dates and other details. · The cornerstone on the Flatiron Building is set on the Fifth Avenue facade.
- That which is prominent, fundamental, noteworthy, or central. · Exceptional service is the cornerstone of the hospitality industry.· That is the cornerstone of any meaningful debate about budgets and projects, regulations and policies.
Plural cornerstones
From the library
This sweeping paradigm shift inexorably altered the financial architecture of publishing, elevating the mass-market paperback from a marginalized novelty to an industry cornerstone.
Ultimately, the river taught him that beneath the tranquil appearance of daily life lay complex undercurrents, a lesson that became the cornerstone of his unparalleled literary legacy.
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