Vocabulary     

What does step mean?

Definitions for step
stɛpstep

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word step.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. measure, stepnoun

    any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal

    "the situation called for strong measures"; "the police took steps to reduce crime"

  2. footstep, pace, step, stridenoun

    the distance covered by a step

    "he stepped off ten paces from the old tree and began to dig"

  3. stepnoun

    the act of changing location by raising the foot and setting it down

    "he walked with unsteady steps"

  4. step, stairnoun

    support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway

    "he paused on the bottom step"

  5. gradation, stepnoun

    relative position in a graded series

    "always a step behind"; "subtle gradations in color"; "keep in step with the fashions"

  6. step, stone's thrownoun

    a short distance

    "it's only a step to the drugstore"

  7. footfall, footstep, stepnoun

    the sound of a step of someone walking

    "he heard footsteps on the porch"

  8. tone, whole tone, step, whole stepnoun

    a musical interval of two semitones

  9. footprint, footmark, stepnoun

    a mark of a foot or shoe on a surface

    "the police made casts of the footprints in the soft earth outside the window"

  10. stepnoun

    a solid block joined to the beams in which the heel of a ship's mast or capstan is fixed

  11. dance step, stepverb

    a sequence of foot movements that make up a particular dance

    "he taught them the waltz step"

  12. stepverb

    shift or move by taking a step

    "step back"

  13. step, treadverb

    put down or press the foot, place the foot

    "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread"; "step on the brake"

  14. stepverb

    cause (a computer) to execute a single command

  15. mistreat, maltreat, abuse, ill-use, step, ill-treatverb

    treat badly

    "This boss abuses his workers"; "She is always stepping on others to get ahead"

  16. stepverb

    furnish with steps

    "The architect wants to step the terrace"

  17. stepverb

    move with one's feet in a specific manner

    "step lively"

  18. stepverb

    walk a short distance to a specified place or in a specified manner

    "step over to the blackboard"

  19. stepverb

    place (a ship's mast) in its step

  20. pace, stepverb

    measure (distances) by pacing

    "step off ten yards"

  21. stepverb

    move or proceed as if by steps into a new situation

    "She stepped into a life of luxury"; "he won't step into his father's footsteps"

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Step

    in composition, signifies one who is related only by marriage. [ Steop , Saxon, from stepan , to deprive or make an orphan: for the Saxons not only said a step-mother, but a step-daughter, or step-son; to which it indeed, according to this etymology, more properly belongs: but as it is now seldom applied but to the mother, it seems to mean, in the mind of those who use it, a woman who has stepped into the vacant place of the true mother.]

    How should their minds chuse but misdoubt, lest this discipline, which always you match with divine doctrine as her natural and true sister, be found unto all kinds of knowledge a step-mother. Richard Hooker.

    His wanton step-dame loved him the more;
    But when she saw her offered sweets refuse,
    Her love she turn’d to hate. Fairy Queen.

    You shall not find me, daughter,
    After the slander of most step-mothers,
    Ill-ey’d unto you. William Shakespeare, Cymbeline.

    A father cruel, and a step-dame false. William Shakespeare.

    Cato the elder, being aged, buried his wife, and married a young woman: his son came to him, and said, Sir, what have I offended, that you have brought a step-mother into your house? The old man answered, Nay, quite the contrary, son; thou pleasest me so well, as I would be glad to have more such. Francis Bacon.

    The name of step-dame, your practis’d art,
    By which you have estrang’d my father’s heart,
    All you have done against me, or design,
    Shows your aversion, but begets not mine. John Dryden, Aurengz.

    A step-dame too I have, a cursed she,
    Who rules my hen-peck’d sire, and orders me. Dryden.

    Any body would have guessed miss to have been bred up under the influence of a cruel step-dame, and John to be the fondling of a tender mother. John Arbuthnot, Hist. of John Bull.

  2. Stepnoun

    Etymology: stæp , Saxon; stap, Dutch.

    Thou sound and firm-set earth,
    Hear not my steps, which way they walk. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

    Ling’ring perdition, worse than any death
    Can be at once, shall step by step attend
    You and your ways. William Shakespeare, Tempest.

    Who was the first to explore th’ untrodden path,
    When life was hazarded in every step? Joseph Addison, Cato.

    While Solyman lay at Buda, seven bloody heads of bishops, slain in the battle, were all set in order upon a wooden step. Richard Knolles, History of the Turks.

    The breadth of every single step or stair should be never less than one foot, nor more than eighteen inches. Henry Wotton.

    Those heights where William’s virtue might have staid,
    And on the subject world look’d safely down,
    By Marlbro’ pass’d, the props and steps were made
    Sublimer yet to raise his queen’s renown. Matthew Prior.

    It was a saying among the ancients, truth lies in a well; and, to carry on this metaphor, we may justly say, that logick does supply us with steps, whereby we may go down to reach the water. Isaac Watts.

    The gradus, a Roman measure, may be translated a step, or the half of a passus or pace. John Arbuthnot, on Coins.

    There is but a step between me and death. 1 Sa. xx. 3.

    O may thy pow’r, propitious still to me,
    Conduct my steps to find the fatal tree
    In this deep forest. John Dryden, Æn.

    To derive two or three general principles of motion from phænomena, 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, though the causes of those principles were not yet discovered. Newton.

    One injury is best defended by a second, and this by a third: by these steps the old masters of the palace in France became masters of the kingdom; and by these steps a general, during pleasure, might have grown into a general for life, and a general for life into a kings. Jonathan Swift.

    The querist must not proceed too swiftly towards the determination of his point, that he may with more ease draw the learner to those principles step by step, from whence the final conclusion will arise. Isaac Watts.

    From hence Astrea took her flight, and here
    The prints of her departing steps appear. John Dryden, Virgil.

    Sudden from the golden throne
    With a submissive step I hasted down;
    The glowing garland from my hair I took,
    Love in my heart, obedience in my look. Matthew Prior.

    The reputation of a man depends upon the first steps he makes in the world. Alexander Pope.

  3. To STEPverb

    Etymology: stœppan , Saxon; stuppen, Dutch.

    Whosoever first after the troubling the water stepped in, was made whole. Jo. v. 4.

    One of our nation hath proceeded so far, that he was able, by the help of wings, in a running pace to step constantly ten yards at a time. John Wilkins, Math. Mag.

    Ventidius lately
    Bury’d his father, by whose death he’s stepp’d
    Into a great estate. William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens.

    When a person is hearing a sermon, he may give his thoughts leave to step back so far as to recollect the several heads. Isaac Watts.

    They are stepping almost three thousand years back into the remotest antiquity, the only true mirrour of that ancient world. Alexander Pope, the Iliad. Preface to.

    I am in blood
    Stept in so far, that, should I wade no more,
    Returning were as tedious as go o’er. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

    The old poets step in to the assistance of the medalist. Addis.

    See where he comes: so please you, step aside;
    I’ll know his grievance. William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.

    My brothers, when they saw me wearied out,
    Stepp’d, as they said, to the next thicket-side
    To bring me berries. John Milton.

    When your master wants a servant who happens to be abroad, answer, that he had but just that minute stept out. Jonathan Swift, Directions to Servants.

    Pyrrhus, the most ancient of all the bashaws, stept forth, and, appealing unto his mercies, earnestly requested him to spare his life. Richard Knolles, History of the Turks.

    When you stepp’d forth, how did the monster rage,
    In scorn of your soft looks and tender age! Abraham Cowley.

    Home the swain retreats,
    His flock before him stepping to the fold. James Thomson, Summer.

Wikipedia

  1. Step

    Step is a pop song by the Japanese duo and idol unit ClariS, written by Kz. It was released as the unit's tenth single on April 16, 2014 by SME Records. The song was used as the second opening theme to the 2014 anime series Nisekoi. A music video was produced for "Step", directed by Jungo. The single peaked at No. 3 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart.

ChatGPT

  1. step

    A step refers to a movement made by lifting the foot and setting it down in a new position, accompanying change or movement in a particular direction. It can also refer to a stage in a process or sequence, an action or decision that is part of a larger series in progression towards a goal, or a particular level, grade or rank in a hierarchy or scale.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Stepadjective

    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

  2. Stepadjective

    to walk; to go on foot; esp., to walk a little distance; as, to step to one of the neighbors

  3. Stepadjective

    to walk slowly, gravely, or resolutely

  4. Stepadjective

    fig.: To move mentally; to go in imagination

  5. Stepverb

    to set, as the foot

  6. Stepverb

    to fix the foot of (a mast) in its step; to erect

  7. Stepverb

    an advance or movement made by one removal of the foot; a pace

  8. Stepverb

    a rest, or one of a set of rests, for the foot in ascending or descending, as a stair, or a round of a ladder

  9. Stepverb

    the space passed over by one movement of the foot in walking or running; as, one step is generally about three feet, but may be more or less. Used also figuratively of any kind of progress; as, he improved step by step, or by steps

  10. Stepverb

    a small space or distance; as, it is but a step

  11. Stepverb

    a print of the foot; a footstep; a footprint; track

  12. Stepverb

    gait; manner of walking; as, the approach of a man is often known by his step

  13. Stepverb

    proceeding; measure; action; an act

  14. Stepverb

    walk; passage

  15. Stepverb

    a portable framework of stairs, much used indoors in reaching to a high position

  16. Stepverb

    in general, a framing in wood or iron which is intended to receive an upright shaft; specif., a block of wood, or a solid platform upon the keelson, supporting the heel of the mast

  17. Stepverb

    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

  18. Stepverb

    a bearing in which the lower extremity of a spindle or a vertical shaft revolves

  19. Stepverb

    the intervak between two contiguous degrees of the csale

  20. Stepverb

    a change of position effected by a motion of translation

  21. Etymology: [AS. staeppan; akin to OFries. steppa, D. stappen to step, stap a step, OHG. stepfen to step, G. stapfe a footstep, OHG. stapfo, G. stufe a step to step on; cf. Gr. to shake about, handle roughly, stamp (?). Cf. Stamp, n. & a.]

Wikidata

  1. STEP

    The Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle is a proposed space science experiment to test the equivalence principle of general relativity. The experiment is thought to be sensitive enough to test Einstein's theory of gravity and other theories. The basic configuration is that of a drag-free satellite where an outer shell around an inner test mass is used to block solar wind, atmospheric drag, the Earth's magnetic field and other effects which might disturb the motion of a freely-falling inner object.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Step

    step, n. a pace: the distance crossed by the foot in walking or running: a small space: degree: one remove in ascending or descending a stair: round of a ladder: footprint: manner of walking: proceeding: action: the support on which the lower end of a mast, or staff, or a wheel rests: (pl.) walk, direction taken in walking: a self-supporting ladder with flat steps.—v.i. to advance or retire by pacing: to walk: to walk slowly or gravely: to walk a short distance: to move mentally.—v.t. to set, as a foot: to fix, as a mast:—pr.p. step′ping; pa.t. and pa.p. stepped.—ns. Step′per, one who steps; Step′ping-stone, a stone for stepping on to raise the feet above the water or mud; Step′stone, a door-step.—Step aside, to walk to a little distance, as from company: to err; Step in, or into, to enter easily or unexpectedly; Step out, to go out a little way: to increase the length of the step and so the speed; Step short, to shorten the length of one's step. [A.S. stæpe—stapan, to go; Dut. stap, Ger. stapfe.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. step

    A large clamp of timber fixed on the kelson, and fitted to receive the tenoned heel of a mast. The steps of the main and fore masts of every ship rest upon the kelson; that of the mizen-mast sometimes rests upon the lower-deck beams.--To step a boat's mast. To erect and secure it in its step in readiness for setting sail.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. step

    Progression by one removal of the foot. It likewise signifies pace. To step, to move forward or backward by a single change of the place of the foot. To step out, is to lengthen the step, without altering the cadence. To step short, is to diminish or slacken the pace, according to the tactics. These phrases are frequently used in military movements when it is found necessary to gain ground in front, or to give the rear of a column, etc., time to acquire its proper distance. To step off, is to take a prescribed step from a halted position, in common or quick time, in conformity to some given word of command or signal. Balance-step, is so called from the body being balanced upon one leg, in order to render it firm and steady in military movements, etc. Step is likewise figuratively used to signify promotion; as, the next step from a lieutenancy is a captaincy, from a captaincy a majority, etc.

Editors Contribution

  1. step

    A facet of a process or move to achieve a goal, task or plan.

    They took it step by step together in unity, love and understanding.


    Submitted by MaryC on February 22, 2020  

  2. step

    To move our feet.

    To step up the stairs we use the movement of our feet.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 12, 2020  

Suggested Resources

  1. STEP

    What does STEP stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the STEP acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. STEP

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Step is ranked #101247 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Step surname appeared 178 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Step.

    87.6% or 156 total occurrences were White.
    3.9% or 7 total occurrences were Black.
    2.8% or 5 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    2.8% or 5 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'step' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1450

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'step' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1687

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'step' in Nouns Frequency: #302

  4. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'step' in Verbs Frequency: #357

Anagrams for step »

  1. pest

  2. pets

  3. sept

  4. Sept.

  5. spet

How to pronounce step?

How to say step in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of step in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of step in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of step in a Sentence

  1. Heather Bresch:

    There are alternatives to Perrigo. We believe Perrigo is the right first step. We like Perrigo, but we don't have to have Perrigo, there are lots of assets out there.

  2. Justin Trudeau:

    Canada needs to step up in its fight against climate change.

  3. John McCain:

    There is recent progress in Iraq. Three-thousand U.S.-trained and equipped Iraqi forces are among those who have encircled Ramadi and are poised for an operation to retake the city from ISIS. Shipments of U.S. weapons are finally arriving to fighters in a timely fashion. But while Defense Ash Carter has not ruled out the use of forward air controllers, Defense Ash Carter said : I talked about that with our commanders … here. They have not recommended us taking that step at this time. Critics in Washington, like Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have excoriated commanders for not recommending them. Obviously ISIS is winning in Iraq and for you not to be in favor of us having forward air controllers on the ground in some scholastic answer, you know full well as I do -- forward air controllers make the difference.

  4. Hamza Al-Houthi:

    We do not say that the Geneva conference failed, but rather that it was a first step, and there were acts of obstruction that were clear and systematic aimed at ensuring that no clear results come out of this conference, there is clear and systematic obstruction from the aggressors, at the head of them Saudi Arabia, and this obstruction is aimed at ensuring that the Yemenis don’t come out with clear solutions and so that the aggression continues and the siege on the Yemeni people continues,' he said. The issue of Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda expansion in Yemen had been.

  5. Takeshi Masuda:

    If the president is coming to see what really happened here and if that constitutes a step toward the abolition of nuclear arms in future, I don't think we should demand an apology, it has been really tough for those who lost family members. But if we demand an apology, that would make it impossible for him to come.

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Popularity rank by frequency of use

step#1#930#10000

References

Translations for step

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • قيافة, خطوة, مشيةArabic
  • аҙым, эҙ, баҫҡыс, йөрөшBashkir
  • pas, petjada, esglaóCatalan, Valencian
  • schod, kráčet, příčka, krok, pokládatCzech
  • fodspor, gang, trin, trinbræt, trit, skridtDanish
  • schreiten, Schritt, Stufe, Sprosse, tretenGerman
  • ŝtupoEsperanto
  • escalón, paso, peldañoSpanish
  • astinlauta, kannatinlaakeri, askelma, astella, tikkaat, toimenpide, astua, jalanjälki, askel, kukonaskel, jalusta, nostaa, siirtyäFinnish
  • faire un pas, pas, marche, marcherFrench
  • thoir, ceumnaich, staidhreScottish Gaelic
  • kesmad, tesmad, greeish, caskeimManx
  • पदHindi
  • lépdel, lép, lépésHungarian
  • քայլել, քայլ, աստիճանArmenian
  • langkah kaki, berjalanIndonesian
  • passo, scalinoItalian
  • 踏み台, 段, 行程, 立てる, 歩く, ステップ, 踏み出す, 足並み, 度, ひとまたぎ, 足音, 歩き方, 足取り, 段階, 踏む, 足跡, 檣座, 歩, 歩む, 道のり, 踏み入れるJapanese
  • passusLatin
  • pakāpiens, soļot, solisLatvian
  • whetokoMāori
  • stappen, stap, gaanDutch
  • skritt, stegNorwegian
  • pasOccitan
  • stopień, chód, zrobić krok, krokPolish
  • [[dar]] [[um]] [[passo]], degrau, dar um pulo, etapa, porte, pegada, passo, andaduraPortuguese
  • passRomansh
  • păși, pas, treaptăRomanian
  • шагнуть, поступь, след, шаг, ступить, ступень, ступенька, идти, шагать, подножка, ступать, походкаRussian
  • पदSanskrit
  • passuSardinian
  • sled, korak, stopiti, hoja, korakati, stopinjaSlovene
  • fotsteg, fotspår, gångstil, framsteg, steg, gångSwedish
  • hatuaSwahili
  • adımTurkish
  • щабель, хода, крок, сходинкаUkrainian

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