1. standards or criteria used to judge the quality or genuineness of something
Usage: figurative use
2. dark stones formerly used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak left on the stone when rubbed by the metal
Usage: historical; literal sense

Examples

• The Constitution serves as one of the touchstones of American democracy.
• Her grandmother’s recipes became touchstones for authentic family cooking.
• Academic integrity should be among the touchstones of any educational institution.
• The critic used Shakespeare’s works as touchstones for evaluating modern drama.
• Ancient jewelers relied on touchstones to verify the quality of precious metals.
• These core values act as touchstones for all our business decisions.
• The teacher used classic literature as touchstones for discussing good writing.