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APG.American
Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

STEP

/stɛp/

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What does STEP mean?

noun

  1. An advance or movement made from one foot to the other; a pace.
  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.
  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.
More meanings (36)

noun

  1. The button joining a glass's stem to its foot.
  2. A distinct part of a process; stage; phase.
  3. A running board where passengers step to get on and off the bus.
  4. The space passed over by one movement of the foot in walking or running.
  5. A small space or distance.
  6. A print of the foot; a footstep; a footprint; track.
  7. A gait; manner of walking.
  8. Proceeding; measure; action; act.
  9. A walk; passage.
  10. A portable framework of stairs, much used indoors in reaching to a high position.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. A bearing in which the lower extremity of a spindle or a vertical shaft revolves.
  14. The interval between two contiguous degrees of the scale.
  15. A change of position effected by a motion of translation.
  16. A constant difference between consecutive values in a series.
  17. (slang) Kick scooter.
  18. Stepping (style of dance)
  19. A stepchild.
  20. A stepsibling.
  21. Acronym of striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase.
  22. Acronym of serial transverse enteroplasty.

verb

  1. 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. To don with a stepping action.
  3. To walk; to go (on foot, especially) a little distance.
  4. To walk slowly, gravely, or resolutely.
  5. To dance.
  6. (figuratively) To move mentally; to go in imagination.
  7. To set, as the foot.
  8. To fix the foot of (a mast) in its step; to erect.
  9. To advance a process gradually, one step at a time.
  10. (slang) To depart.
  11. (slang) To be confrontational.

proper noun

  1. Acronym of Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.
  2. Acronym of Sixth Term Examination Paper.
  3. Acronym of Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production.
Wiktionary contributors Wiktionary contributors

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/stɛp/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

He heard her quick step and saw her tall figure appear in the doorway, with the light of the lamp behind her.
Willa CatherO Pioneers!Project Gutenberg ebook #24
“It is as well to have made this step,” said Roger Chillingworth to himself, looking after the minister, with a grave smile.
Nathaniel HawthorneThe Scarlet LetterProject Gutenberg ebook #33
More book examples (3)
The spring was abroad in the land and Marilla’s sober, middle-aged step was lighter and swifter because of its deep, primal gladness.
L. M. (Lucy Maud) MontgomeryAnne of Green GablesProject Gutenberg ebook #45
Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it.
Henry David ThoreauOn the Duty of Civil DisobedienceProject Gutenberg ebook #71
A moment later he saw me, and, to my amazement, he started back a step, as though he had seen something wonderful.
Anthony HopeThe prisoner of ZendaProject Gutenberg ebook #95