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in step

6 3.5
Doing something at the same time and in the same way as someone else
  • idiom
translation icon : en sintonía
  • Schools need to go back to the classroom in order to keep in step with technology.
  • keep in step
  • fall in step
  • rise and fall in step

But if they're moving in step, though, you have to look at is the scaling still the same?

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Examples

  • And unfortunately, she says she has since fallen in step with the office's standoffish atmosphere.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Rosie and I walked in step, bundled against the cold, the youngest and oldest of our family.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • How do you manage to keep in step and move around like one of those young boys?

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

    Blog text (34)
  • The Republican Party needs to get in step with the times we are living in.

    Blog text (8)
  • We keep in step or we get outflanked.

  • Both stocks and oil have been plummeting in step with one another.

    Blog text (23)
  • She's in step with how to run this estate in the '30s, the '40s and the '50s.

  • Wheeling almost in step, the boys reacted to this new provocation by striding straight toward the geezer.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The dancers moved in perfect step with each other during the performance.

Synonyms

in tune
vsin step
31 3.7

Agreeing and working well with other people or ideas

focuses on moving together in synchrony rather than on internal agreement
in harmony with
vsin step
15 3.7

Agreeing with someone or fitting well with something

emphasizes moving or synchrony rather than just general consistency
in time
vsin step
13 2.2

At the right beat so movement matches the music

applies to moving together in any context not only musical rhythm
in concert with
vsin step
12 3.5

Working together with others to reach the same goal

is about general matching movement or agreement rather than planned joint action
in lockstep
vsin step
10 6.0

Moving or acting exactly the same as others

is similar but allows looser and less exact synchrony

Antonyms

18 6.1

Not in agreement with the ideas or actions of others

How Synchronized

harmony
146 2.5
to sync
  • Informal
34 3.9
in step
6 3.5
out of step
18 6.1

Surface Forms

in step positive

Morphology

in + step

The literal sense 'moving with the same step' is directly derivable from 'in' (position/within) + 'step' (a foot movement), so learners who know both words will readily understand physical synchrony (e.g. walking "in step"). However, the broader figurative use meaning 'in agreement' or 'in harmony' is a metaphorical extension that may not be fully predictable without exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

In step comes from marching and dancing, where people keep their steps together. When everyone's steps match, they move smoothly, so the phrase now means 'in harmony' or 'in agreement'.