Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🤝 Exact agreement 👣 Matching steps 💻 Synchronized operation
lockstep

lockstep

1 7.7
People march with each step matching the person in front
  • noun
  • /ˈlɑkˌstɛp/
translation icon : paso sincronizado
  • In lockstep, Mrs. Shevvington and Christina entered the outer office.

Which means March in lockstep, lock and load when you're told to, and let loose when you're told to.

Examples

  • March in lockstep to the tune of the masters.

    Blog text (8)

  • Not only did it own the airwaves and the ink presses, but its management and its employees marched in lockstep.

    Blog text (30)

  • Soldiers, above all, are united as one; they become so by wearing the uniform, marching in lockstep, and instantly obeying an officer's commands.

    Academic text (2002)

  • The fifty-some aliens hesitated for a moment and then marched in lockstep behind him.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The soldiers marched in lockstep as they followed their commanding officer.

  • During the parade, the cadets moved in lockstep, making their formation look impressive.

  • The dancers performed perfectly in lockstep, syncing their movements with each other flawlessly.

Antonyms

independence
608 3.0

Freedom from control by others, for example when a country is free or a person supports themselves

disorder
31 3.7

A state in which things or places are not arranged

Idioms

in lockstep
10 6.0

Moving or acting exactly the same as others

How Synchronized

lockstep
1 7.7
in step
6 3.5
out of step
18 6.1

Surface Forms

lockstep singular
locksteps plural

Morphology

lockstep = lock + step (transparent) = lock + step

The components 'lock' + 'step' combine literally: steps locked together in rhythm are clearly described by the compound.

Etymology

Lockstep comes from the idea of placing each foot into the exact place of the person in front so the parts lock and step are 'locked' together. So it describes a way of marching where each person's step matches and follows exactly.