stepping stone

one of a series of stones acting as footrests for crossing streams, marshes, etc

a circumstance that assists progress towards some goal

Words nearby stepping stone

But the deputy speakership was just a stepping-stone to the top job for al-Abadi.

Exclusive: Inside Obama's Push for Regime Change in Iraq |Eli Lake |August 11, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I remember that being a stepping-stone for me when it comes to why he gets so aggravated.

Adam Driver on Role-Play Sex with Lena Dunham on ‘Girls’ and Adam’s Stormy Relationship with Hannah |Marlow Stern |March 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
A path two feet deep had been worn into the stepping-stone at the entrance.

Paris: With Pen and Pencil |David W. Bartlett
And full well Joan realized that in this big venture of hers the old, except as a stepping-stone, was separated forever.

The Shield of Silence |Harriet T. Comstock

Education is not only compulsory, but it is the only stepping-stone to high preferment in the civil service of the government.

The Story of Malta |Maturin M. Ballou
The episcopal chair was often but the stepping-stone to the scaffold.

The Catacombs of Rome |William Henry Withrow
Once, twice, three times Courney had been a stepping-stone in the swept and garnished pathways of battle.

Those Times And These |Irvin S. Cobb