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step

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step¹

  • /stɛp/ US, UK

Sounds like steppe · Rhymes with -ɛp

Where it comes from

From Middle English steppen, from Old English steppan (“to step, go, proceed, advance”), stepe (“step”), from Proto-West Germanic *stappjan, from Proto-Germanic *stapjaną (“to step”), *stapiz (“step”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“to support, stomp, curse, be amazed”).

Cognate with West Frisian stappe (“to step”), North Frisian stape (“to walk, trudge”), Dutch stappen (“to step, walk”), Walloon steper (“to walk away, leave”), German stapfen (“to trudge, stomp, plod”) and further to Slavic Polish stąpać (“to stomp, stamp, step, tread”), Russian ступать (stupatʹ) and Polish stopień (“step, stair, rung, degree”), Russian степень (stepenʹ). Related to stamp, stomp.

noun steps

  1. 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 o

    Similar: stride

  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. The button joining a glass's stem to its foot.
  5. A distinct part of a process; stage; phase. He improved step by step, or by steps.
  6. A running board where passengers step to get on and off the bus. The driver must have a clear view of the step in order to prevent accidents.
  7. The space passed over by one movement of the foot in walking or running. One step is generally about three feet, but may be more or less.
  8. A small space or distance. It is but a step.
  9. A print of the foot; a footstep; a footprint; track.
  10. A gait; manner of walking. The approach of a man is often known by his step.
  11. Proceeding; measure; action; act. The reputation of a man depends on the first steps he makes in the world.
  12. in plural A walk; passage. Conduct my steps to find the fatal tree.
  13. in plural A portable framework of stairs, much used indoors in reaching to a high position.
  14. A framing in wood or iron which is intended to receive an upright shaft; specifically, a block of wood, or a solid platform upon the keelson, supporting the heel of the mast.
  15. 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.
  16. A bearing in which the lower extremity of a spindle or a vertical shaft revolves.
  17. The interval between two contiguous degrees of the scale. Usage note: The word tone is often used as the name of this interval; but there is evident incongruity in using tone for indicating the interval between tones. As the word scale is derived from the Italian scala, a ladder, the intervals may well be called steps.
  18. A change of position effected by a motion of translation. A change of position effected by a motion of translation will be called a step.
  19. A constant difference between consecutive values in a series. Printing from 0 to 9 with a step of 3 will display 0, 3, 6 and 9.
  20. Netherlands, slang Kick scooter.
  21. Stepping (style of dance)

verb steps · stepping · stepped · stept

  1. intransitive 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.
  2. intransitive To don with a stepping action. He stepped into his pants.
  3. intransitive To walk; to go (on foot, especially) a little distance. Come one, come all. Step right up!
  4. intransitive To walk slowly, gravely, or resolutely. Home from his Morning-Task , the Swain retreats, His flock before him stepping to the fold.
  5. To dance. At arms length with left hands clasped they moved back where facing each other they stepped in time to their dance embrace.
  6. figuratively, intransitive To move mentally; to go in imagination. They are stepping almost three thousand years back into the remotest antiquity.
  7. transitive To set, as the foot. One of the women, Elsie, stepped her foot inside to help the woman.
  8. transitive To fix the foot of (a mast) in its step; to erect. We put everything straight, stepped the long-boat's mast for our skipper, who was in charge of her, and I was not sorry to sit down for a moment.
  9. transitive To advance a process gradually, one step at a time.
  10. intransitive, slang To depart. You best step, cuz things are about to jump off.
  11. intransitive, slang To be confrontational. You tryna be steppin right now? You better bring it if so.

    Opposite: step off

step²

  • /stɛp/ US, UK

Sounds like steppe · Rhymes with -ɛp

noun steps

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

STEP³

proper noun

  1. US, abbreviation, acronym Acronym of Smart Traveler Enrollment Program
  2. UK, abbreviation, acronym Acronym of Sixth Term Examination Paper
  3. abbreviation, acronym Acronym of Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production

noun

  1. abbreviation, acronym, uncountable Acronym of striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase
  2. abbreviation, acronym, uncountable Acronym of serial transverse enteroplasty

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: pace, stride, tread, footfall, footstep, footprint, footmark, stair, gradation, measure, dance step, tone, whole tone, whole step, walk, gait

Translations

Every language

noun pace

Españolpaso
한국어걸음 georeum
日本語足取り ashidori, ステップ suteppu
中文步 bù
हिन्दीपद pad, क़दम qadam
Kiswahilihatua
Portuguêspasso
Françaispas
DeutschSchritt
Italianopasso
Ελληνικάβήμα víma
Românăpas
Русскийшаг šag
Tiếng Việtbước
العربيةخُطْوَة ḵuṭwa, خَطْوَة ḵaṭwa
עבריתצַעַד tsá'ad

noun one of a set of rests in a stair or ladder

Españolpeldaño, escalón
한국어단 dan
日本語段 dan
中文階 /阶 jiē
Kiswahilihatua
Portuguêsdegrau
Françaismarche
DeutschStufe, Sprosse
Italianoscalino
Ελληνικάσκαλί skalí
Românătreaptă
Русскийступе́нька stupénʹka, ступе́нь stupénʹ
Tiếng Việtbậc, bực

noun a distinct part of a process; stage; phase

Portuguêspasso, etapa
Françaisétape
Italianofase, stadio, passaggio
Ελληνικάφάση fási

noun running board

日本語段 dan
Kiswahilihatua
Portuguêsestribo
Русскийподно́жка podnóžka

noun space passed over by one movement of the foot in walking or running

Españolpaso
日本語歩 ho
Kiswahilihatua
Portuguêspasso
Françaispas
Ελληνικάδιασκελισμός diaskelismós
Românăpas, pași
Русскийшаг šag

noun small space or distance

日本語ひとまたぎ hitomatagi
Kiswahilihatua
Românăpas
Русскийшаг šag

noun footstep

Españolpaso
日本語足跡 ashiato
Kiswahilihatua
Portuguêspegada
DeutschSchritt
Italianopasso
Ελληνικάίχνος íchnos, χνάρι chnári
Românăpas, pași
Русскийслед sled
العربيةخَطْوَة ḵaṭwa

noun manner of walking

Españolpaso
日本語足並み ashinami, 歩き方 arukikata, 足音 ashioto
中文步態 /步态 bùtài
Kiswahilihatua
Portuguêsandadura, porte
DeutschSchritt
Ελληνικάβηματισμός vimatismós
Românăpas
Русскийпохо́дка poxódka, по́ступь póstupʹ
العربيةقِيَافَة qiyāfa, مِشْيَة mišya

noun proceeding; measure; action; act

Españolpaso, etapa, providencia, medida
한국어단계 dan'gye
日本語段階 dankai, 行程 kōtei, 道のり michinori
Kiswahilihatua
Portuguêspasso, etapa
Françaisétape
DeutschSchritt
Italianotappa
Românăpas, pași
Русскийшаг šag

noun in the plural: walk; passage

日本語行程 kōtei, 道のり michinori
Kiswahilihatua

noun in the plural: portable framework of stairs

日本語踏み台 fumidai
Kiswahilihatua
Русскийстремянка stremjanka, лестница lestnica, ступени раскладные stupeni raskladnyje

noun nautical: framing in wood or iron which is intended to receive an upright shaft

日本語檣座 shōza
Kiswahilihatua

noun machinery: one of a series of offsets, resembling the steps of stairs

Kiswahilihatua

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

Kiswahilihatua

noun music: interval between two contiguous degrees of the scale

日本語度 do
Kiswahilihatua
Ελληνικάβαθμίδα vathmída, σκαλί skalí
Русскийступе́нь stupénʹ

noun kinematics: change of position effected by a motion of translation

Kiswahilihatua
Românăpas

verb intransitive: to move the foot in walking

Españolpisar
日本語踏む fumu, 踏み出す fumi-dasu, 踏み入れる fumi-ireru
中文邁 /迈 mài, 踩 cǎi
Kiswahilihatua
Portuguêsdar um passo
Françaisfaire un pas, marcher
Deutschtreten, schreiten
Ελληνικάβηματίζω vimatízo
Românăpăși
Русскийшага́ть šagátʹ, шагну́ть šagnútʹ, ступа́ть stupátʹ, ступи́ть stupítʹ
Tiếng Việtbước

verb intransitive: to go on foot; especially, to walk a little distance

日本語歩く aruku
Kiswahilihatua
Portuguêsdar um pulo
Françaismarcher
Deutschtreten, schreiten
Ελληνικάβηματίζω vimatízo
Русскийшага́ть šagátʹ, шагну́ть šagnútʹ, идти́ idtí

verb intransitive: to walk slowly, gravely, or resolutely

日本語歩む ayumu
Kiswahilihatua

verb intransitive, figuratively: to move mentally

Kiswahilihatua
Deutschtreten
Русскийперенести́сь perenestísʹ

verb transitive, nautical: to erect

日本語立てる tateru

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Cite this
MLA

"step." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/step. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

APA

step. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/step

Chicago

"step." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/step.

BibTeX
@misc{step_2026,
  title = {step},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/step},
  urldate = {2026-11-05}
}