standard, criterion, measure, touchstone
(noun) a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated; “the schools comply with federal standards”; “they set the measure for all subsequent work”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
touchstone (plural touchstones)
A stone used to check the quality of gold alloys by rubbing them to leave a visible trace.
(figurative, by extension) A standard of comparison or evaluation.
• touch-tones, touchtones
Touchstone (plural Touchstones)
A surname.
• According to the 2010 United States Census, Touchstone is the 15391st most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1905 individuals. Touchstone is most common among White (86.51%) individuals.
• touch-tones, touchtones
Source: Wiktionary
Touch"stone`, n.
1. (Min.)
Definition: Lydian stone; basanite; -- so called because used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak which is left upon the stone when it is rubbed by the metal. See Basanite.
2. Fig.:
Definition: Any test or criterion by which the qualities of a thing are tried. Hooker. The foregoing doctrine affords us also a touchstone for the trial of spirits. South. Irish touchstone (Min.), basalt, the stone which composes the Giant's Causeway.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
27 April 2025
(adjective) not quite exact or correct; “the approximate time was 10 o’clock”; “a rough guess”; “a ballpark estimate”
According to Guinness World Records, on 25 September 2016, the Birla Institute of Management Technology (India) in Uttar Pradesh, India, constructed the largest coffee cups pyramid consisting of 23,821 cups. They used paper takeaway coffee cups to build the pyramid.
