touchstone
noun
Michael Specter
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Since the early 16th century, touchstone has referred to a particular kind of siliceous stone (that is, stone containing silica) used to do a particular job: determine the purity of precious metals. The process involves comparing marks made by rubbing a sample of a metal of known purity to marks made by a metal of unknown purity. The method is accurate enough in the case of determining the purity of gold that it is still in use today. Figurative use extended from this literal use, with touchstone functioning as a word for a test or criterion to determine the quality of a thing, and later to refer to a fundamental or quintessential part or feature of something.
Examples of touchstone in a Sentence
Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 May 2025
The quiet effort amounts to an audacious — skeptics might say desperate — bet that Democrats can buy more cultural relevance online, despite the fact that casually right-leaning touchstones like Mr. Rogan’s podcast were not built by political donors and did not rise overnight.
—Theodore Schleifer, New York Times, 20 May 2025
According to Parsons professor Anna Lerner-Zwick, Barneys’ legacy as a touchstone for the New York fashion community was the thread.
—Ari Stark, Footwear News, 20 May 2025
The key idea is there’s still potential for a movie based on this character to truly succeed and become a touchstone on the same level as the Dark Knight trilogy.
—Callum Booth, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for touchstone
Cite this Entry
“Touchstone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/touchstone. Accessed 30 May. 2025.
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touchstone
noun
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