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to step

to step

9.4
To fix a mast upright in its block on a ship
  • verb
  • /stɛp/
  • Specialized
: colocar el mástil en su base
  • Before the race began, the team ensured to step the new mast correctly onto the yacht.

Examples

  • The keelson, into which the mast was stepped, was fitted over the central frames rather than directly to the keel.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Once the mast was stepped and braced with stays, we raised our sails with halyards we had braided out of rawhide.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The crew worked quickly to step the mast in place before the storm hit.

  • During the maintenance, the technicians had to step the mast securely into its holder.

Idioms

65 1.8

In a gradual way, doing each part one after another

Be careful when you move and act to avoid danger and trouble

In a better position because you are ready before others

To do a task slowly, handling each part before the next

28 4.6

To take responsibility and act when a difficult situation happens

18 6.1

Not in agreement with the ideas or actions of others

15 3.5

Doing something at the same time and in the same way as someone else

8 6.6

Make someone angry by doing their job or making decisions for them

6 4.9

An energetic way of walking that shows happiness or confidence

To imagine how someone else feels and sees things

Become the main focus of people's attention after doing something important

A small action that leads to a very large benefit for all people

2 7.3

To take responsibility and act when someone else cannot

Progress that bigger problems later undo

worth every step
  • Informal
1 6.6

So valuable that you feel the effort was not wasted

1 7.3

Think in a new way instead of your usual way

No two experiences are exactly the same

1 8.6

To have unexpected problems because of your own mistake

Phrasal Verbs

292 3.7

Take action and accept responsibility for a task or problem

233 3.2

To get involved to help or take someone's place

232 2.3

Leave a room or building briefly

218 1.0

To put your foot on something, often by accident

157 3.3

Give up an important job so someone else can take over

125 3.4

Make something greater in amount, speed or strength

121 3.4

Move out of the way or leave a job so someone else can take it

Volunteer to help or take responsibility

93 3.6

Pause and think about a situation to understand it better

to step on
  • Informal
67 6.7

To treat someone badly to gain power or get ahead

To pause and think again about a situation to see the bigger picture

to step on it
  • Informal
27 5.2

To hurry and go faster, often when driving

to step on toes
  • Informal
17 6.7

Offend someone by taking over work that belongs to them

13 5.0

Go beyond what people consider acceptable

9 3.7

To press the pedal in a car to make it go faster or hurry to finish something

8 8.7

To have sex with someone else while you have a partner

Move aside so someone can pass

to step lively
  • Informal
5 5.5

Move quickly when someone tells you to hurry

To march with straight legs swung high in military parades

3 4.3

Reduce something to a lower level, for example power or voltage

3 3.2

Move at the same pace as other people when walking or marching

2 1.6

Move a foot or leg over something to avoid touching it

Keep up with changes so you do not fall behind

To go outside briefly to breathe and feel better

To offer to take charge of a group or task

1 4.9

Work harder to improve your skills and do better

To move at the same speed as another person

to step in
  • Specialized
5.8

To run code inside a called function step by step with a debugger

To have sex or a romantic relationship with someone who is not your partner

to step over
  • Specialized
8.2

Run the next line without entering functions it calls

Compounds

308 1.4

The first action you take to begin something

94 4.1

Done in a single stage that needs only one main step

33 2.8

Done in separate parts, each finished before the next

28 3.6

An increase in amount, level, or strength

11 1.9

A set of foot movements that form part of a dance

two-step
  • Texting
10 3.9

Needing two actions to prove a person's identity online

8 4.6

A decrease in amount or level, for example moving to a lower job

7 4.1

A lively partner dance with quick then slow steps to music

A method with two steps done one after the other

3 5.6

A wrong action or decision that hurts progress

2 2.0

A small stool with one or two steps used to reach high places

2 3.0

A short portable structure with flat steps and two sides joined at the top to form an A shape

1 4.0

A kind of dance where exact foot movements make the rhythm

half step
  • Specialized
1 4.4

The smallest jump between two notes in Western music, one piano key apart

1 8.9

A march with straight legs swung high used in military parades

step-up transformer
  • Specialized
1 4.8

A device that raises the voltage of electric current that changes direction

A stage in getting better after illness, injury, or addiction

naughty step
  • Baby Talk
1 7.7

A place where a child sits as a short punishment for bad behaviour

one-step
  • Archaic
1 9.5

A fast ballroom dance from the early 1900s with quick walking steps

1 8.4

A short one-piece underwear with shoulder straps worn by women or children

step-down
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A device like a transformer that lowers electrical voltage

1 9.9

A stepped edge at the top of a wall under a sloping roof

whole step
  • Specialized
1 5.4

The distance between two notes that are two piano keys apart

step rocket
  • Specialized
1 7.8

A rocket with two or more parts that fire one after another and drop away when empty to reach space

step-down transformer
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A device that lowers high electric voltage so appliances work safely

A track event where an athlete does a hop, a step, then a long jump in one run

corbel step
  • Specialized
9.9

A stone or brick step that sticks out along the sloping edge of a gable wall

9.9

A stepped top on the end wall of a roof that looks like stone stairs

Surface Forms

step infinitive
stepped past
stepped past participle
stepping present participle
steps third person singular

Etymology

Step (when used for ships) follows that same idea of a standing place, so to step a mast is to put the mast into its block and make it stand upright.