step

Study(43)

/stɛp/

noun 7verb 5name 2

Collocations

(noun.) in walking, running, etc.

ADJ

large, small | heavy, light | quick, slow | hesitant

involuntary

When she saw the spider, she made an involuntary step back in fear.

careful | unsteady

VERB + STEP

go, take

She took a step back to look at the painting from a different angle.

retrace

I retraced my steps through the store to find the wallet I had dropped.

PREP

~ (away) from

He took a step away from the argument and decided to think about it later.

~ towards

The government is finally taking concrete steps towards reducing plastic waste.

PHRASES

a spring in your step

She walked into the room with a spring in her step after hearing the good news.

a step ahead/behind

Their new product keeps them a step ahead of their competitors.

a step back/backwards/forward/sideways, a step closer/nearer, with each/every step

The music grew louder with each step as we walked toward the concert hall.

(noun.) in dancing

ADJ

dance | jive, tango, etc.

VERB + STEP

execute, perform

The dancers performed elaborate steps across the stage during the opening scene.

learn

keep in

The new dancers struggled to keep in step with the music during rehearsal.

PREP

in ~, out of ~ (with)

The dancers moved in step with each other across the stage.

(noun.) action taken in order to achieve sth

ADJ

big, considerable, giant, huge, massive | small | critical, crucial, decisive, essential, great, important, key, major, vital | first, initial, preliminary | final, last

additional, further, next

We need to take an additional step to solve this problem completely.

logical, necessary, reasonable

The first logical step was to check if the door was actually locked.

active | forward, positive

backward, retrograde

Closing the library would be a retrograde step for our community.

bold, brave, reckless | dramatic, drastic, extraordinary, rare, unprecedented, unusual

irreversible, irrevocable

Leaving the company to start her own business was an irreversible step that changed her life forever.

careful, precautionary

faltering, tentative

After her injury, she took faltering steps down the hallway with help from a nurse.

practical | welcome

immediate, urgent

The government took urgent steps to prevent the disease from spreading further.

false

Taking the first step toward learning a new language can feel challenging but rewarding.

VERB + STEP

go, make, take

She followed each step carefully while assembling the furniture.

PREP

~ in

Learning to cook was an important step in becoming more independent.

~ to/towards

Taking that job was an important step towards achieving her dream of becoming a doctor.

PHRASES

bring sth/be/come/move a step closer/nearer (to sth)

The new medicine brings us a step closer to finding a cure for the disease.

a short step from/to sth

Moving to a new city felt like only a short step to finding the job of her dreams.

a step back/backwards/forward

Taking that new job was a big step forward for her career.

step by step

The teacher explained the math problem step by step until all the students understood it.

a step further

When the company decided to automate all customer service, they had taken a step further than most competitors.

a step in the right direction

Installing solar panels at our school was a step in the right direction for the environment.

a step on the road/way to sth

(noun.) on stairs, a ladder, etc.

ADJ

bottom, top

VERB + STEP

mind

When climbing the stairs, she carefully minded each step to avoid tripping.

PREP

on a/the ~

The cat sat on the bottom step waiting for someone to open the door.

PHRASES

a step down/up

Moving to a smaller apartment was a step down in size but a step up in quality of life.

(noun.) steps: set of steps

ADJ

front | back | outside

QUANT

flight

The apartment is on the third flight of steps, so it takes me a few minutes to climb up.

VERB + STEP

ascend, climb, go/run, etc. up, mount

The children climbed the steps carefully to reach the museum entrance.

descend, go/run, etc. down

STEP + VERB

lead to sth

The stone steps lead to a beautiful garden at the back of the house.

PREP

~ (down/up) to

There's a narrow path that goes down to the beach behind our house.

PHRASES

the bottom/foot/top of the steps

(verb.)

ADV

briskly, quickly

hastily, smartly

She hastily stepped away from the broken glass on the kitchen floor.

slowly | silently | delicately, lightly

carefully, gingerly

She carefully stepped over the broken glass on the kitchen floor.

boldly

aside, away, back, close, down, forward, inside, out, outside

The old man stepped back to admire the painting he had just finished.

PREP

across, from, in, in front of, into, on, onto, out of, over, past, through, towards

She stepped out of the car and walked toward the station.

Definitions

noun

An advance or movement made from one foot to the other; a pace.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

The button joining a glass's stem to its foot.

A distinct part of a process; stage; phase.

He improved step by step, or by steps.

The first step is to find a job.

verb

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.

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.

To walk; to go on foot; especially, to walk a little distance.

Come one, come all. Step right up!

to step to one of the neighbors

To walk slowly, gravely, or resolutely.

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

To dance.

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

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.

To move mentally; to go in imagination.

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

noun

A stepchild.

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

A stepsibling.

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

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal

measure

noun — support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascendi

stair

noun — a mark of a foot or shoe on a surface

footprint
footmark

noun — a musical interval of two semitones

tone

noun — the sound of a step of someone walking

noun — the distance covered by a step

noun — relative position in a graded series

gradation

verb — measure (distances) by pacing

pace

verb — put down or press the foot, place the foot

tread

verb — treat badly

mistreat
maltreat
abuse
ill-use
ill-treat

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

step on it

To drive fast; to step on the accelerator.

If I step on it, I can still arrive on time.

step up

To increase, augment, or advance, especially by one or more steps.

Near-synonym: level up

spring in one's step

Enthusiasm, energy or a positive outlook or cheerful attitude.

Near-synonyms: pep in one's step, pep, peppiness, perkiness, spryness, get-up-and-go

step down

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see step, down.

to step down carefully from a train

step up to the plate

To initiate action; to assume or take a responsibility.

Surround yourself with good people who can reliably step up to the plate and solve problems when they occur.

Example Bank

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

Wiktionary

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

Wiktionary

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

Wiktionary

Come one, come all. Step right up!

Wiktionary

to step to one of the neighbors

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, step is marked as figuratively, colloquial, US, UK. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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