as in cornerstone
an immaterial thing upon which something else rests
a sense of history is the keystone to the city's draw as a tourist destination
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of keystone
Bison are a keystone species to North American prairies.
—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Apr. 2026
Sea otters are a keystone species in kelp forest ecosystems, eating sea urchins that would otherwise consume the kelp, according to the aquarium.
—Cierra Morgan, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
Setup is effortless thanks to Intelligent Screen Adaption, which features auto-focus, auto-keystone correction, and obstacle avoidance.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 23 Apr. 2026
Kim learned that beavers are a keystone species — an organism that holds an ecosystem together.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for keystone
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Apr. 2026
Sea otters are a keystone species in kelp forest ecosystems, eating sea urchins that would otherwise consume the kelp, according to the aquarium.
—Cierra Morgan, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
Setup is effortless thanks to Intelligent Screen Adaption, which features auto-focus, auto-keystone correction, and obstacle avoidance.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 23 Apr. 2026
Kim learned that beavers are a keystone species — an organism that holds an ecosystem together.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for keystone
Recent Examples of Synonyms for keystone
Noun
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Founded by Jack Ma in 1999, the ecommerce giant became a cornerstone of China’s internet economy while introducing global investors to the scale of Chinese technology markets.—
TrueBridge Capital,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
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The same demand was a cornerstone of Paxton’s victory speech.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 May 2026
Noun
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The Twins then broke the stalemate in the 11th inning when Brooks Lee sent a bases-clearing double deep to right field, bringing home Ryan Kreidler, the automatic runner, as well as Luke Keaschall and Byron Buxton, who had singled and walked respectively, before Lee stepped to the plate.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
27 May 2026
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Mike Trout was walked, loading the bases for Grissom.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
Noun
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Domestic capabilities are the foundation American ingenuity was a genesis for AI, from the invention of the transistor to the development of the transformer, which enables large language models.—
Olivia White,
Time,
29 May 2026
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Freedom 250 has its own employees, but the foundation provides federal funds and the park service approves the events and reviews their budgets, according to the website.—
Jack Dolan,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Noun
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At Brentford, quick transitions were the bedrock of his success, encouraging his goalkeeper and defenders to hit the forward players early to maximise their pace on the break.—
Elias Burke,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
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Stories in newspapers drive conversations and form the bedrock of future investigations.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
24 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Keystone.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keystone. Accessed 30 May. 2026.
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