step

STEP/stɛp/

Pluralsteps

Verbsteps, stepping, stepped

26 meanings of step

Practice

1
process stagenouncountable
One of the separate stages or phases in a process.
The next step in the experiment requires careful timing.
She broke the project into five clear steps.
UsageUsually the first step, the next step, often + to: the first step is to find a job. Set phrase: step by step.
Similarstage, phase, part
2
walking movenouncountable
A single movement made by lifting one foot and setting it down in a new place; a pace.
With each careful step, the climber tested the icy ledge.
The toddler's first steps delighted her parents.
UsageYou take a step forward or back. Watch your step means be careful where you walk.
Similarpace, stride, footstep
Note
The core movement the rest of the family grows from: Old English steppan and stepe, traced to a Proto-Indo-European root *stebʰ- whose meanings range from 'support' to 'stomp'. Stairs, distances, gaits and the stages of a process all extend this single lift and placing of the foot, which is why the word moves so easily between the literal and the figurative.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Step derives from Old English steppan and stepe. en.wiktionary.org
The ancestry is traced to Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ-, with meanings including support and stomp. en.wiktionary.org
3
walk a littleverbintransitive
To lift the foot and set it down in a new place; to walk, especially a short distance or in a particular manner, or to put the foot down on a particular spot.
He stepped onto the platform just as the train arrived.
Visitors step through the gate one at a time.
UsageUsually with a direction word: step onto the platform, step back, step on a nail. Spelled stepped, stepping.
Similarwalk, tread
Note
An older past and past participle, stept, survives in dated writing, with the same clipped ending seen in leapt.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Stept is an older past-tense and past-participle form found in dated writing. en.wiktionary.org
Stept has the same pronounced ending as leapt. en.wiktionary.org
Leapt ends in /ɛpt/. en.wiktionary.org
4
action toward goalnouncountable
An action or measure taken toward some end.
The government announced a bold step to cut pollution.
We must take immediate steps to solve the problem.
UsageUsually take steps to do something: take immediate steps to solve the problem.
Similarmeasure, move, action, initiative
Note
Here the stride becomes a deliberate act, and the verb it calls for is take: take steps, take additional steps. Pope writes of the first steps a man makes in the world, so make once served as well, and Cowper warns against desperate steps.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Alexander Pope wrote about the first steps a man makes in the world, providing a historical example of make with steps. gutenberg.org
William Cowper warns against desperate steps in the moral of The Needless Alarm. ccel.org
5
stairnouncountable
A flat surface for the foot in going up or down, such as a stair, a rung of a ladder, or the step of a vehicle.
The top step had begun to creak under his weight.
He painted the porch steps a bright blue.
Similarstair, rung, tread
6
short distancenouncountable
The distance covered by a single step; hence, a short distance or small space.
The beach was only a step from their front door.
After all that effort, success felt just a step away.
UsageCommon in a step away and a few steps from: the beach was a few steps from the door.
7
go awayverbslangintransitive
To leave; to go away from where you are.
I need to step before this gets any worse.
"I gotta step," he said, grabbing his jacket on the way out.
UsageNo object or direction needed: I need to step; you best step.
Similarleave, go (entry), split, bounce
Oppositestay, arrive
Note
African-American Vernacular slang in which the verb simply means 'leave', often as advice or a warning: you best step. That sets it apart from the confrontational slang use, where someone steps to another person.

Less common meanings

8
advance graduallyverbtransitive
To move a process forward by degrees, stage by stage.
The engineer stepped the voltage up in small increments.
The software is designed to step the motor speed down gradually so the machine stops smoothly.
Similarramp, increase, advance
9
stool laddernouncountableplural
A freestanding, portable set of stairs that people commonly use indoors to get up to something high.
He balanced on the top of the steps to reach the attic hatch.
A folding set of steps stood in the corner of the library.
UsageSay a set of steps or the steps, even for one folding frame. Stepladder is a common alternative.
Similarstepladder, ladder
10
partner's childnouncolloquialcountable
A step-relative, especially a stepchild, stepbrother or stepsister.
She married a man with two kids, and she proudly calls them her steps.
Both of his steps call him Dad.
Note
A different word that shares the spelling: a clipping of stepchild, with its own origin separate from footsteps. George Herriman's Krazy Kat (1934) catches it in conversation: 'Boy or girl?' 'Step – but well brung up.'
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The relative sense is a clipping with an origin separate from the ordinary movement word. en.wiktionary.org
George Herriman's Krazy Kat contains this example in a strip published in 1934. en.wiktionary.org
The quoted dialogue is accurate; Krazy Kat asks the question and a woman answers. en.wiktionary.org
11
footprintnouncountable
A mark left by a foot; a footprint or track.
In the soft mud by the river, we could still see the steps of the hunter who had passed that morning.
He traced the fox's steps across the frozen field.
Similarfootprint, track, print, footstep
12
way of walkingnouncountable
A manner of walking; a person's gait.
He crossed the room with a confident step.
There was a new lightness in her step that morning.
UsageCommon in a spring in your step and a lightness in her step.
Similargait, stride, tread, walk
13
one move (games)nouncountable
A change of position brought about by moving from one place to another.
Each press of the arrow key moved the cursor one step to the right.
Unlike the queen, the king can move only one step at a time.
Similarstride, move, pace
Note
A term of kinematics defined with deliberate precision. William Kingdon Clifford's Elements of Dynamic (1878) declares that a change of position effected by a motion of translation 'will be called a step.' The point is translation alone: the body shifts from place to place without turning, which keeps the term distinct from rotation.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
William Kingdon Clifford wrote Elements of Dynamic, first published in 1878. en.wikipedia.org
Clifford explicitly calls a change of position effected by translation a step; the quoted words are exact. upload.wikimedia.org
Translation changes position while preserving orientation, distinguishing it from rotation. en.wikipedia.org
14
music intervalnouncountable
In music, the interval between two neighboring degrees of a scale.
The melody rises by a step before resolving to the tonic.
Two steps separate those notes on the major scale.
UsageAmerican usage favors whole step and half step; British usage usually says tone and semitone.
Note
Some writers prefer it to tone, since calling the gap between two tones a tone is awkward. The scale, from Latin scala, 'ladder', already suggests rungs, so the distance from one degree to the next is naturally called a step. The metaphor lets melodies rise or fall by steps, and it keeps the name of the interval separate from the names of the notes themselves.
15
confrontverbslangintransitive
To behave in a confrontational way; to challenge someone aggressively.
Don't step to me like you're looking for a fight.
She stepped to him in front of the whole crowd.
UsageUsually step to someone: don't step to me. Step off tells someone to back down.
Similarconfront, challenge
16
in the mindverbfigurativelyintransitive
To move in the mind; to travel somewhere in imagination.
The poem invites readers to step into a world of memory and longing.
In his daydreams he stepped freely among distant stars.
UsageUsually step into a world, a story or the past.
Similarventure, wander, travel, journey
17
math intervalnouncountable
The constant difference between consecutive values in a sequence or series.
The loop increases the index by a step of two on every pass.
With a step of 0.5, the values move smoothly from zero to ten.
UsageUsual frame: a step of plus a number: a step of two, a step of 0.5.
Similarincrement, interval
Note
Programmers and mathematicians use the word for the fixed increment of a sequence. Counting from 0 to 9 with a step of 3 yields 0, 3, 6 and 9, and the end value appears only because the step lands on it exactly.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Counting upwards from 0 through 9 in increments of 3 gives 0, 3, 6 and 9. stat.ethz.ch
In this counting example, 9 is reached because the difference between the endpoints is an integer multiple of 3. github.com
18
danceverbintransitive
To move the feet rhythmically; to dance.
Dancers step in unison as the drums set the rhythm.
She stepped through the whole routine with effortless grace.
UsageOften step in time or step to the beat.
Similardance, move
Note
Partner dancing gives the dance verb an unusual transitive use: one partner can step another off on the first beat, leading them into the dance. Repetition carries the rhythm, as when Paula Poundstone writes 'we stepped, stepped, and back stepped to the beat.'
19
stamping dancenoununcountable
A percussive dance style in which rhythms are produced through stamping, clapping, and chanted words.
Her group competes in step, blending claps, stamps, and chants into tight routines.
Modern step grew out of older traditions of percussive body rhythm.
UsageAlso called stepping.
20
spade foot restnouncountable
The part of a spade or digging tool that the foot presses against to push the blade into the ground.
He set his foot on the step and drove the blade deep into the clay.
A wide step on the spade makes long digging far less painful on the foot.
Similartread
21
noun
One of a series of offsets resembling stair steps, such as one of the parts of a cone pulley on which a belt runs.
22
noun
A block, socket or bearing that receives and supports the lower end of an upright shaft or spindle, or the foot of a ship's mast.
23
verb
To fix the foot of a mast into its step; to set a mast upright.
24
noun
The small knob of glass where the stem of a drinking glass meets its base.
25
noun
A walk or journey from one place to another.
26
noundialectalNetherlands
A kick scooter, the kind pushed along with one foot.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of step apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–9, 11–20

Proto-Germanic *stapjaną, perhaps from the Proto-Indo-European root *stebʰ-, led to Proto-West Germanic *stappjan, then Old English steppan, meaning "to step, go, proceed, advance," and finally Middle English steppen. Stamp and stomp are related, and cognates include Dutch stappen and German stapfen ("to trudge, stomp").

Meaning 10

A clipping of stepchild and stepsibling.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Step, referring to a stepchild or stepsibling, is a clipping of those words. en.wiktionary.org