A guidepost is a sign or marker that shows travelers which way to go. On hiking trails, you might see wooden guideposts with arrows pointing toward different destinations: “Summit: 2 miles” or “Parking lot: half a mile back.” Before modern GPS and smartphones, guideposts along roads helped people navigate by showing distances to nearby towns.

The word also describes anything that helps you make decisions or find your way through a situation. When you're trying to choose between different activities or figure out how to solve a problem, you might use certain principles as guideposts: basic ideas that point you in the right direction. A teacher might offer guideposts for writing a good essay, like “start with a clear main idea” and “support your points with examples.” Scientists use past discoveries as guideposts for new research.

Think of guideposts as helpful markers along any journey, whether you're hiking through woods or working through a challenge. They don't make the journey for you, but they keep you from getting completely lost when the path isn't obvious.