1
: the wedge-shaped piece at the crown of an arch that locks the other pieces in place see arch illustration
2
: something on which associated things depend for support
determination, a keystone of the puritan ethic—
L. S. Lewis
L. S. Lewis3
or keystone species
: a species of plant or animal that produces a major impact (as by predation) on its ecosystem and is considered essential to maintaining optimum ecosystem function or structure
Synonyms
Examples of keystone in a Sentence
Tourism is the city's economic keystone.
the keystone of his faith
Recent Examples on the Web
Last year, the department adopted a new policy formally recognizing beavers as a keystone species — those that play an outsized role in maintaining the diversity of their ecosystem — and encouraging landowners to try nonlethal methods for living with them before seeking approval to kill them.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
While more than 100,000 people made the trip to South Florida for the electronic music festival in downtown Miami, flooding and heavy rainfall put a damper on the keystone event.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
This mindset, acknowledging that perspectives are the keystones of wealth, empowers us to transform challenges into opportunities for growth, learning and meaningful impact.
—Ellie Perlman, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
Major’s was slated to play a keystone role in the MCU, having already played Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
—Shelby Stewart, Essence, 2 Jan. 2024
The recovery of this keystone species has been celebrated as a huge win by biologists and biodiversity experts—but it’s not been without its problems.
—Tristan Kennedy, WIRED, 21 Mar. 2024
For the government and supporters of Beijing, the legislation is the keystone in fulfilling a constitutional duty, heralding a new era focused squarely on economic prosperity.
—Kanis Leung, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2024
The account of how Yentl came to be falls smack in the middle of Streisand’s new, nearly 1,000-page memoir, My Name Is Barbra, and for that reason alone is an important keystone for understanding her.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 7 Nov. 2023
This portable projector can also be used outside and has four-point keystone correction and Bluetooth compatibility.
—Margaret Drake, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2023
Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
While more than 100,000 people made the trip to South Florida for the electronic music festival in downtown Miami, flooding and heavy rainfall put a damper on the keystone event.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
This mindset, acknowledging that perspectives are the keystones of wealth, empowers us to transform challenges into opportunities for growth, learning and meaningful impact.
—Ellie Perlman, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
Major’s was slated to play a keystone role in the MCU, having already played Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
—Shelby Stewart, Essence, 2 Jan. 2024
The recovery of this keystone species has been celebrated as a huge win by biologists and biodiversity experts—but it’s not been without its problems.
—Tristan Kennedy, WIRED, 21 Mar. 2024
For the government and supporters of Beijing, the legislation is the keystone in fulfilling a constitutional duty, heralding a new era focused squarely on economic prosperity.
—Kanis Leung, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2024
The account of how Yentl came to be falls smack in the middle of Streisand’s new, nearly 1,000-page memoir, My Name Is Barbra, and for that reason alone is an important keystone for understanding her.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 7 Nov. 2023
This portable projector can also be used outside and has four-point keystone correction and Bluetooth compatibility.
—Margaret Drake, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'keystone.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Dictionary Entries Near keystone
Cite this Entry
“Keystone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keystone. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
keystone
noun
key·stone
ˈkē-ˌstōn 
1
: the wedge-shaped piece at the top of an arch that locks the other pieces in place
2
: something on which other things depend
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