step

Definitions

General English

noun a
regular

movement
of feet at the
same
time as
other

people
noun one
stair
,
which
goes up or down
noun an action
which
is done or has to be done out of
several
verb to walk in a
particular

direction

Cars & Driving

noun a ledge formed by an edge setter in a
sheet metal
panel to provide a level
mounting
and
welding
surface with the adjacent panel

Commerce

noun a type of action

Computing

noun a single unit
verb to move forward or backwards by one unit

Electronics

One within a series,
sequence
, order, or process.
To cause to proceed one step (1) at a time, or from one step to another.
The interval encompassing a single step (1).
Within a
computer program
, a single instruction. May also refer to a single
statement
, which can contain multiple instructions. Also called
program step
.
To cause to
execute
a single step (4).

Information & Library Science

noun one of a series of stages used to accomplish a
task

Law

prefix
(written as step-)
showing a family relationship through a parent who has married again

Medical

noun a
movement
of the foot and the leg as in walking

Publishing

verb to cut something in steps

Slang

exclamation
(written as step!)
don’t try it!

Travel

noun a stair on a staircase, or a flat rung on a ladder

Origin & History of “step”

Step,

together

with

its relatives German stapfen and Dutch steppen, comes

from

a prehistoric

west

Germanic base *stap- ‘tread’ (a nasalized version of

which

produced

English

stamp). (Russian step, source of English steppe (17^th c.), is not related.) The prefix step- (OE), as in stepdaughter, stepfather, etc, originated in a word meaning ‘orphan’. It is related to Old high German stiufen ‘bereave’.

Nearby Definitions of “step”

Contexts for “step”

12 definitions in context

Origin & History