# step

Pronunciation: say "STEP" /stɛp/

## Noun

1. One of the separate stages or phases in a process.
   - Simple: One part of a job or process that you do in order.
   - _The next step in the experiment requires careful timing._
   - _She broke the project into five clear steps._
2. A single movement made by lifting one foot and setting it down in a new place; a pace.
   - Simple: A single movement of one foot when you walk or run.
   - _With each careful step, the climber tested the icy ledge._
   - _The toddler's first steps delighted her parents._
4. An action or measure taken toward some end.
   - Simple: An action you take to deal with something or reach a goal.
   - _The government announced a bold step to cut pollution._
   - _We must take immediate steps to solve the problem._
5. 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.
   - Simple: A flat place to put your foot when going up or down, like a stair, ladder rung or bus step.
   - _The top step had begun to creak under his weight._
   - _He painted the porch steps a bright blue._
6. The distance covered by a single step; hence, a short distance or small space.
   - Simple: How far one step takes you, or any short distance.
   - _The beach was only a step from their front door._
   - _After all that effort, success felt just a step away._
9. A freestanding, portable set of stairs that people commonly use indoors to get up to something high.
   - Simple: A movable set of small stairs used indoors to reach high places.
   - _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._
10. A step-relative, especially a stepchild, stepbrother or stepsister. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: An informal word for 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._
11. A mark left by a foot; a footprint or track.
   - Simple: A mark left by a foot on the ground.
   - _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._
12. A manner of walking; a person's gait.
   - Simple: The way a person walks.
   - _He crossed the room with a confident step._
   - _There was a new lightness in her step that morning._
13. A change of position brought about by moving from one place to another.
   - Simple: A single move from one place to another, such as a piece in a game or a cursor on a screen.
   - _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._
14. In music, the interval between two neighboring degrees of a scale.
   - Simple: In music, the distance from one note to the next note beside it.
   - _The melody rises by a step before resolving to the tonic._
   - _Two steps separate those notes on the major scale._
17. The constant difference between consecutive values in a sequence or series.
   - Simple: In math, the fixed amount added between one value and the next in a 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._
19. A percussive dance style in which rhythms are produced through stamping, clapping, and chanted words.
   - Simple: A style of dance built around loud, rhythmic footwork and body sounds.
   - _Her group competes in step, blending claps, stamps, and chants into tight routines._
   - _Modern step grew out of older traditions of percussive body rhythm._
20. The part of a spade or digging tool that the foot presses against to push the blade into the ground.
   - Simple: The flat top edge of a spade where your foot pushes down to dig.
   - _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._

## Verb

3. 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.
   - Simple: To move by lifting your foot and putting it down somewhere, or to walk a short way.
   - _He stepped onto the platform just as the train arrived._
   - _Visitors step through the gate one at a time._
7. To leave; to go away from where you are. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To leave a place or go away.
   - _I need to step before this gets any worse._
   - _"I gotta step," he said, grabbing his jacket on the way out._
8. To move a process forward by degrees, stage by stage.
   - Simple: To move a process forward slowly, one part at a time.
   - _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._
15. To behave in a confrontational way; to challenge someone aggressively. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To act in a way that starts a fight or challenge.
   - _Don't step to me like you're looking for a fight._
   - _She stepped to him in front of the whole crowd._
16. To move in the mind; to travel somewhere in imagination.
   - Simple: To travel somewhere in your mind or imagination.
   - _The poem invites readers to step into a world of memory and longing._
   - _In his daydreams he stepped freely among distant stars._
18. To move the feet rhythmically; to dance.
   - Simple: To move your feet in time with music while dancing.
   - _Dancers step in unison as the drums set the rhythm._
   - _She stepped through the whole routine with effortless grace._

## Other meanings

- (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.
- (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.
- (verb) To fix the foot of a mast into its step; to set a mast upright.
- (noun) The small knob of glass where the stem of a drinking glass meets its base.
- (noun) A walk or journey from one place to another.
- (noun) A kick scooter, the kind pushed along with one foot.

## Origin

**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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/step (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).