step
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
How often you will meet it
Rank 715 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 26,385 times across 155,139 chapters — 0.013% of every word in the library.
It belongs to the first 1,000 words, the band worth learning before any other.
What it means
noun
- any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal also: measure the situation called for strong measuresthe police took steps to reduce crime
- the distance covered by a step also: footstep, pace, stride he stepped off ten paces from the old tree and began to dig
- the act of changing location by raising the foot and setting it down he walked with unsteady steps
- support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway also: stair he paused on the bottom step
- relative position in a graded series also: gradation always a step behindsubtle gradations in color
- a short distance also: stone's throw it's only a step to the drugstore
step in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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The only standing room was on the last small step.
Cornelli · Johanna Spyri · Chapter 1
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Charles Desmond stood upon the step just above the master who was calling Bill.
The Hill: A Romance of Friendship · Horace Annesley Vachell · Chapter 1
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You see they did just as their mother said, and did not step on the young cabbages.
The Dutch Twins · Lucy Fitch Perkins · Chapter 1
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Keep Thou my feet, I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step enough for me.
The White Christmas and other Merry · Walter Ben Hare · Chapter 1
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She moved forward a step or two and then paused again above the dip of the Corbury road.
Ethan Frome · Edith Wharton · Chapter 1