stepping stone | Idiomator

Meaning: A stone that can be stepped on in crossing something, especially amarshorcreek.1829,Edgar Allan Poe, “Tamerlane”, inAl Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems:Falling—her verieststepping-stoneShall form the pedestal of a throne— […]1980,AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 171, about Egton Bridge:Pretty stone cottages overlook the river's northern bank, and a short footpath 200 yds beyond the post office leads tostepping-stones.; (idiomatic)Something used as a way toprogressto something or somewhere else.He was full of ambition, and force, and life, intending all sorts of great things, and meaning to make his position astepping stoneto all that was excellent in public life.Esperanto can make a goodstepping stonelanguage to Latin, which may be difficult for amateur linguists.1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto I”, inIn Memoriam, London:Edward Moxon,[…],→OCLC:I held it truth, with him who sings⁠To one clear harp in divers tones,⁠That men may rise onstepping-stonesOf their dead selves to higher things.

Examples:

EN: What's that, what's that? I'll be a stepping stone for nobody.
ES: ¡Yo no le abriré camino a nadie!
EN: If we drift apart then I'll be left alone though you used my heart for just a stepping stone.
ES: Si nos separamos, entonces me quedaré sola Aunque utilizaste mi corazón solo como trampolín
EN: When she got here, she used man after man as a stepping stone.
ES: Cuando llegó, utilizó a un hombre tras otro para subir.
EN: She will use that throne as a stepping stone to yours.
ES: Ella usará ese trono como escalón para llegar al vuestro.
EN: I don't know how to put it into words like Jimmy could but... all he wants, all any of them want, is a... is a chance to show... To find out what they've got while they're still young and... and burning like a short cut or a stepping stone.
ES: Ah, no sé cómo ponerlo en palabras como haría Jimmy... pero todo lo que él quiere, todo lo que ellos quieren... es la posibilidad de mostrar, averiguar lo que tienen mientras son jóvenes... y ambiciosos.
EN: Until 1941, it was known only as a stepping stone for the Pan American Clippers.
ES: Hasta 1941, sólo se usaba como escala para los clípers de la Pan American.
EN: Oh, this is just a stepping stone from where I've been to... where I hope I'm going.
ES: Ahora gano 50 dólares a la semana.
EN: Lone stepping stone across the vast Pacific, to the mysterious brooding islands of the of the Malasia.
ES: Trampolín solitario a las misteriosas islas melancólicas de la Malasia.
EN: Oh, just another stepping stone.
ES: Es otro peldaño más.
EN: Now you're using these red flags as a stepping stone to an easy life.
ES: Ahora estás usando estas banderas rojas como un trampolín para una vida fácil.
EN: I'm not thinking of TV as the finish line but as a stepping stone and when I become really popular I'm going into journalism, to Hollywood.
ES: No pienso en la tele como una meta sino como un trampolín de lanzamiento y cuando posea una gran popularidad... entraré en el periodismo, en Hollywood...
EN: - It's a stepping stone.
ES: - Creo que es sólo un paso. - Cómo dijo que eran?
EN: I do not... admire a man who uses others as a stepping stone to gain his own ends.
ES: ¡Yo no admiro a un hombre que se vale de otros para lograr su objetivo!
EN: A stepping stone, toots...
ES: Un trampolín, querida.
EN: A mere stepping stone to stardom.
ES: Un trampolín a la gloria.

Note: the examples for non latin scripts have a high likelihood of mistakes, we do not own any of this data and it is sourced from Wiktionary, the NLLB database and Opensubtitles. Please help us improve this by contributing correct examples. We will be working to fix this issue over time however it is a bigger issue due to the the difficulties in dealing with non latin scripts and grammatical structures(non-romantic/european languages have lower resources as well ).