landmark
/ˈlan(d)mɑːk
/noun
1An object or feature of a landscape or town that is easily seen and recognized from a distance, especially one that enables someone to establish their location: the spire was once a landmark for ships sailing up the river...
- Acquire a ten-digit grid location of a landmark easily picked out on imagery such as a road intersection.
- It paints a very recognisable picture of Swindon, mentioning the train station and other landmarks in the town centre.
- Gamers familiar with some tracks will easily be able to pick out certain landmarks or other features from their real-life counterparts.
Synonyms
marker, mark, indicator, guiding light, leading light, signal, beacon, lodestar, sign
1.1North American A building or monument of historical importance: the entire town has been designated a National Historic Landmark...
- We must continue to bear security checks at our major sporting events, our theme parks, and our major historic landmarks and buildings.
- Neon lights, theatrically lighted landmarks and monuments, and carnivals all present picture opportunities that don't show up by daylight.
- As a heritage trail, the park includes a network of major cultural landmarks, principal monuments, historic sites and open spaces.
Synonyms
monument, distinctive/prominent feature, sight, spectacle
1.2 historical The boundary of an area of land, or an object marking this: at certain points of the boundary the men would beat the landmark with their sticks...
- It's a landmark and a county boundary that links East to West.
Synonyms
boundary marker, demarcator, boundary line, boundary fence, pale, picket;
Architecture terminus
2An event or discovery marking an important stage or turning point in something: the vaccine is a landmark in the history of preventive medicine...
- In 1960 he helped organize the first Situation exhibition, an important landmark in British abstract art.
- The National Pension Program is an important landmark in Taiwan's evolution toward a welfare state.
- Recently the parliamentary elections were held in Uzbekistan which become an important landmark in further democratization of the country.
Synonyms
turning point, milestone, watershed, critical point, historic event, major achievement;
crisis, divide