overstep
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overstep
- /ˌəʊvəˈstɛp/ UK
- /ˌoʊvɚˈstɛp/ US
Rhymes with -ɛp
Where it comes from
From Middle English *oversteppen, from Old English ofersteppan, from Proto-Germanic *uberstapjaną (“to step over; overstep”). Cognate with Dutch overstappen, German Low German överstappen, German überstapfen, überstepfen. Cf. transgress. By surface analysis, over- + step.
verb oversteps · overstepping · overstepped
- To go too far beyond (a limit); especially, to cross boundaries or exceed norms or conventions. That color scheme really oversteps the bounds of good taste.
- To take a step in which the foot touches ground too far forward. As an instance of this inability to control the muscles well, may be cited the almost constant tendency to understep or overstep especially with the fore legs.
- To move with a gait such that the hind foot touches the ground forward of the point where the front foot touches the ground. For quotations using this term, see Citations:overstep.
noun
- A gait in which the hind foot touches ground in front of where the front foot touches the ground. A few animals, such as bison, commonly use an understep walk, while several species, including black bears, cougars and pronghorn regularly use an overstep walk.
- A movement in which one oversteps.
- A decision or action that goes too far. […] an overstep of their legal bounds as an organization of any kind, and a violation of your civil rights.
