step definition

English step definition

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /stɛp/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Homophone: steppe
• Rhymes: -ɛp

Etymology 1

From Middle English steppen, from Old English steppan (“to step, go, proceed, advance”), stepe (“step”), from Proto-West Germanic *stappjan, from Proto-Germanic *stapjaną (“to step”), *stapiz (“step”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“to support, stomp, curse, be amazed”).

Cognate with West Frisian stappe (“to step”), North Frisian stape (“to walk, trudge”), Dutch stappen (“to step, walk”), Walloon steper (“to walk away, leave”), German stapfen (“to trudge, stomp, plod”) and further to Slavic Polish stąpać (“to stomp, stamp, step, tread”), Russian ступать (stupatʹ) and Polish stopień (“step, stair, rung, degree”), Russian степень (stepenʹ). Related to stamp, stomp.

Noun

step (plural steps)

1. An advance or movement made from one foot to the other; a pace.
   • 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, chapter III, in Nobody, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 1915, →OCLC:

     Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when, of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little stood like a stricken thing, quite motionless save that she quaked to her very marrow in the grasp of a great and enervating fear.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:step.
2. A rest, or one of a set of rests, for the foot in ascending or descending, as a stair, or a rung of a ladder.
   • 1624, Sir Henry Wotton, The Elements Of Architecture:

     The breadth of every single step or stair should be never less than one foot.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.

   • 1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 122:

     Through the open front door ran Jessamy, down the steps to where Kitto was sitting at the bottom with the pram beside him.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:step.
3. The part of a spade, digging stick or similar tool that a digger's foot rests against and presses on when digging; an ear, a foot-rest.
4. A distinct part of a process; stage; phase.

   He improved step by step, or by steps.

   The first step is to find a job.

5. A running board where passengers step to get on and off the bus.

   The driver must have a clear view of the step in order to prevent accidents.

6. The space passed over by one movement of the foot in walking or running.

   One step is generally about three feet, but may be more or less.

   • 1704, I[saac] N[ewton], “(please specify |book=1 to 3)”, in Opticks: Or, A Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light. […], London: […] Sam[uel] Smith, and Benj[amin] Walford, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC:

     To derive two or three general principles of motion from phenomena, and afterwards to tell us how the properties and actions of all corporeal things follow from those manifest principles, would be a very great step in philosophy.

7. A small space or distance.

   It is but a step.

8. A print of the foot; a footstep; a footprint; track.
9. A gait; manner of walking.

   The approach of a man is often known by his step.

   • 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:

     Warwick passed through one of the wide brick arches and traversed the building with a leisurely step.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:step.
10. Proceeding; measure; action; act.
    • 1717, Alexander Pope, Preface to his collection of poems:

      The reputation of a man depends on the first steps he makes in the world.

    • c. 1792, William Cowper, The Needless Alarm:

      Beware of desperate steps. The darkest day, Live till to-morrow, will have passed away.

    • 1879, George Washington Cable, Old Creole Days:

      I have lately taken steps […] to relieve the old gentleman's distresses.

    • 2019, VOA Learning English (public domain)

      Moon has also requested that government officials take additional steps to help fight pollution, his spokesman said.

      Audio (US)

      (file)

11. (in the plural) A walk; passage.
    • 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

      Conduct my steps to find the fatal tree.

12. (in the plural) A portable framework of stairs, much used indoors in reaching to a high position.
13. (nautical) A framing in wood or iron which is intended to receive an upright shaft; specifically, a block of wood, or a solid platform upon the keelson, supporting the heel of the mast.
14. (machines) One of a series of offsets, or parts, resembling the steps of stairs, as one of the series of parts of a cone pulley on which the belt runs.
15. (machines) A bearing in which the lower extremity of a spindle or a vertical shaft revolves.
17. (music) The interval between two contiguous degrees of the scale.

    Usage note: The word tone is often used as the name of this interval; but there is evident incongruity in using tone for indicating the interval between tones. As the word scale is derived from the Italian scala, a ladder, the intervals may well be called steps.

18. (kinematics) A change of position effected by a motion of translation.
    • 1878, William Kingdon Clifford, Elements of Dynamic: An Introduction to the Study of Motion:

      A change of position effected by a motion of translation will be called a step.

19. (programming) A constant difference between consecutive values in a series.

    Printing from 0 to 9 with a step of 3 will display 0, 3, 6 and 9.

20. (slang, primarily Netherlands) Kick scooter.

Synonyms

• (pace): stride

Hyponyms

• back step, half step, etc. see under back, half, etc.
• cyclic step

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

step (third-person singular simple present steps, present participle stepping, simple past stepped or (dated) stept or (obsolete) stope, past participle stepped or (dated) stept)

1. (intransitive) To move the foot in walking; to advance or recede by raising and moving one of the feet to another resting place, or by moving both feet in succession.
   • 2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly):

     A “moving platform” scheme […] is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays.

2. (intransitive) To walk; to go on foot; especially, to walk a little distance.

   to step to one of the neighbors

   • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:

     Some days later it happened that young Heriotside was stepping home over the Lang Muir about ten at night, it being his first jaunt from home since his arm had mended.

3. (intransitive) To walk slowly, gravely, or resolutely.
   • 1727, James Thomson, “Summer”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC:

     Home from his Morning-Task , the Swain retreats, His flock before him stepping to the fold.

4. To dance.
   • 2013, Calvin Vraa, The Last Pathway Home, page 179:

     At arms length with left hands clasped they moved back where facing each other they stepped in time to their dance embrace.

   • 2013, Jean Fullerton, Call Nurse Millie:

     She clapped, but instead of walking her back to the table, Alex took her hand and pulled her gently towards him, slipping his arm around her waist again and stepping her off on the first beat of the next dance.

   • 2017, Christine Schimpf, A Christmas Kind of Perfect:

     He stepped to the beat of one of their favorite songs.

   • 2018, Paula Poundstone, The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness, page 180:

     He put on a tame version of the 1960s song “The Letter,” wrapped his right arm around my waist, raised my right hand, draped it over his left, and we stepped, stepped, and back stepped to the beat.

5. (intransitive, figuratively) To move mentally; to go in imagination.
   • 1715–1720, Homer, [Alexander] Pope, transl., “Book preface”, in The Iliad of Homer, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC:

     They are stepping almost three thousand years back into the remotest antiquity.

6. (transitive) To set, as the foot.
   • 2010, Charles E. Miller, Winds of Mercy: 40 Short Stories, page 219:

     One of the women, Elsie, stepped her foot inside to help the woman.

7. (transitive, nautical) To fix the foot of (a mast) in its step; to erect.
   • 1898, Joseph Conrad, Youth:

     We put everything straight, stepped the long-boat's mast for our skipper, who was in charge of her, and I was not sorry to sit down for a moment.

8. (transitive) To advance a process gradually, one step at a time.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Clipping of stepchild.. Clipping of stepsibling.

Noun

step (plural steps)

1. (colloquial) A stepchild.
   • 1934 September 6, George Herriman, Krazy Kat, comic strip, →ISBN, page 234:

     [Krazy Kat, after complimenting a woman on her nice polite little child:] Boy or girl?
     [Woman:] Step – but well brung up.

2. (slang) A stepsibling.
   • 2016, Robert M. Herzog, A World Between:

     So for Richard and Barbara, Jeff and Kari, the impossibly varied collection of steps and halves that is another legacy of my father.

See also

• step-

Further reading

• “step”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “step”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• EPTs, ESTP, PETs, Pest, Sept, Sept., TPEs, Teps, pest, pets, sept, sept-, spet

Czech step definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈstɛp]
• Rhymes: -ɛp

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

step f

1. steppe

Declension

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English step.

Noun

step m inan

1. tap dance

Declension

Further reading

• step in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• step in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• step in Internetová jazyková příručka

Dutch step definition

Etymology

Borrowed from English step (“footrest on a bicycle”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stɛp/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: step
• Rhymes: -ɛp

Noun

step f (plural steps, diminutive stepje n)

1. kick scooter

   Synonyms: autoped, trottinette

2. (dated) A mounting bracket on a bicycle.

Derived terms

• steppen

Descendants

• → Papiamentu: stèp

Indonesian step definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s(ə)tɛp/
• Hyphenation: stèp

Etymology 1

From English step, from Middle English steppen, from Old English steppan (“to step, go, proceed, advance”), stepe (“step”), from Proto-Germanic *stapjaną (“to step”), *stapiz (“step”), from Proto-Indo-European *stab- (“to support, stomp, curse, be amazed”).

Noun

stèp (first-person possessive stepku, second-person possessive stepmu, third-person possessive stepnya)

1. step; pace, gait.

Etymology 2

From Dutch stuip (“convulsion”), from Middle Dutch stūpe, stupen, stuypen (“convulsion”, literally “to duck, to bend down”), from Old English stupian (“to stoop, bend over”) (compare to English stoop (“to bend”)), from Old Norse stúpa, from Proto-Germanic *stūpōną, *stūpijaną (“to stand out”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewb- (“to push, butt, knock”). Doublet of setip.

Noun

stèp (first-person possessive stepku, second-person possessive stepmu, third-person possessive stepnya)

1. (colloquial, medicine) convulsion.

   Synonyms: kejang, konvulsi, sawan

Alternative forms

• setip

Further reading

• “step” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Middle English step definition

Noun

step

1. Alternative form of steppe

Polish step definition

Etymology

Borrowed from Ukrainian степ (step).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stɛp/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛp
• Syllabification: step

Noun

step m inan

1. (often in the plural) steppe

Declension

Further reading

• step in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• step in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian step definition

Etymology

Borrowed from English step.

Noun

step n (uncountable)

1. (dance) tap dance

Declension

Spanish step definition

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English step.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstep/ [ˈst̪ep], /esˈtep/ [esˈt̪ep]
• Rhymes: -ep
• Syllabification: step

Noun

step m (uncountable)

1. step training

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Turkish step definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s(ɨ)ˈtep/
• Hyphenation: step

Etymology 1

Through English steppe or borrowed directly from French steppe, from Russian степь (stepʹ).

Noun

step (definite accusative stepi, plural stepler)

1. steppe (the grasslands of Eastern Europe and Asia)

   Synonym: bozkır

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	step
Definite accusative	stepi
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	step	stepler
Definite accusative	stepi	stepleri
Dative	stepe	steplere
Locative	stepte	steplerde
Ablative	stepten	steplerden
Genitive	stepin	steplerin
Possessive forms Nominative Singular Plural 1st singular stepim steplerim 2nd singular stepin steplerin 3rd singular stepi stepleri 1st plural stepimiz steplerimiz 2nd plural stepiniz stepleriniz 3rd plural stepleri stepleri Definite accusative Singular Plural 1st singular stepimi steplerimi 2nd singular stepini steplerini 3rd singular stepini steplerini 1st plural stepimizi steplerimizi 2nd plural stepinizi steplerinizi 3rd plural steplerini steplerini Dative Singular Plural 1st singular stepime steplerime 2nd singular stepine steplerine 3rd singular stepine steplerine 1st plural stepimize steplerimize 2nd plural stepinize steplerinize 3rd plural steplerine steplerine Locative Singular Plural 1st singular stepimde steplerimde 2nd singular stepinde steplerinde 3rd singular stepinde steplerinde 1st plural stepimizde steplerimizde 2nd plural stepinizde steplerinizde 3rd plural steplerinde steplerinde Ablative Singular Plural 1st singular stepimden steplerimden 2nd singular stepinden steplerinden 3rd singular stepinden steplerinden 1st plural stepimizden steplerimizden 2nd plural stepinizden steplerinizden 3rd plural steplerinden steplerinden Genitive Singular Plural 1st singular stepimin steplerimin 2nd singular stepinin steplerinin 3rd singular stepinin steplerinin 1st plural stepimizin steplerimizin 2nd plural stepinizin steplerinizin 3rd plural steplerinin steplerinin
Predicative forms Singular Plural 1st singular stepim steplerim 2nd singular stepsin steplersin 3rd singular step steptir stepler steplerdir 1st plural stepiz stepleriz 2nd plural stepsiniz steplersiniz 3rd plural stepler steplerdir

Derived terms

• step iklimi

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English step.

Noun

step (definite accusative stepi, plural stepler)

1. (basketball) traveling (basketball rule violation)

   Synonym: hatalı yürüme

2. (dance) This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	step
Definite accusative	stepi
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	step	stepler
Definite accusative	stepi	stepleri
Dative	stepe	steplere
Locative	stepte	steplerde
Ablative	stepten	steplerden
Genitive	stepin	steplerin
Possessive forms Nominative Singular Plural 1st singular stepim steplerim 2nd singular stepin steplerin 3rd singular stepi stepleri 1st plural stepimiz steplerimiz 2nd plural stepiniz stepleriniz 3rd plural stepleri stepleri Definite accusative Singular Plural 1st singular stepimi steplerimi 2nd singular stepini steplerini 3rd singular stepini steplerini 1st plural stepimizi steplerimizi 2nd plural stepinizi steplerinizi 3rd plural steplerini steplerini Dative Singular Plural 1st singular stepime steplerime 2nd singular stepine steplerine 3rd singular stepine steplerine 1st plural stepimize steplerimize 2nd plural stepinize steplerinize 3rd plural steplerine steplerine Locative Singular Plural 1st singular stepimde steplerimde 2nd singular stepinde steplerinde 3rd singular stepinde steplerinde 1st plural stepimizde steplerimizde 2nd plural stepinizde steplerinizde 3rd plural steplerinde steplerinde Ablative Singular Plural 1st singular stepimden steplerimden 2nd singular stepinden steplerinden 3rd singular stepinden steplerinden 1st plural stepimizden steplerimizden 2nd plural stepinizden steplerinizden 3rd plural steplerinden steplerinden Genitive Singular Plural 1st singular stepimin steplerimin 2nd singular stepinin steplerinin 3rd singular stepinin steplerinin 1st plural stepimizin steplerimizin 2nd plural stepinizin steplerinizin 3rd plural steplerinin steplerinin
Predicative forms Singular Plural 1st singular stepim steplerim 2nd singular stepsin steplersin 3rd singular step steptir stepler steplerdir 1st plural stepiz stepleriz 2nd plural stepsiniz steplersiniz 3rd plural stepler steplerdir

Derived terms

• stepçi

Further reading

• step in Turkish dictionaries at Türk Dil Kurumu
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “step1”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “step2”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Ayverdi, İlhan (2010), “step”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı
• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007), “step”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 4, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 4251