to step in
3
5.8
- phrasal verb
- Specialized
:
entrar en
- Stephen—I’m attempting to install Server Essentials on an old x510, but I’m actually not clear on the step in which the headlessunattend.xml file is altered.
Examples
-
The programmer decided to step in and debug the code line by line to find the error.
-
Exploring more than one resolution to the problem and working with others to come to the most ethically justifiable solution are the next two steps in the decision-making process.
Academic text (1994) -
As the user performs the inspection steps in "learn" mode, the steps are recorded in memory for future play.
Academic text (2000) -
The use of expert systems, however, is changing the nature of that experience as the system now performs many of the steps in the decision-making process.
Academic text (1994) -
Hiring more staff and launching the PMD Center are just some of the steps in what is "going to continue to be a learning process," Yi says.
Blog text (2) -
During the testing phase, the developer can step in to closely examine the function's execution.
-
To understand how the algorithm works, you can step in and evaluate each process under a debugger.
Antonyms
How Detailed
- Specialized
3
5.8
- Specialized
15
6.3
- Specialized
2
8.2
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The core sense of 'step in' as 'enter' or 'intervene' is directly inferable from 'step' + 'in' (move into), so a B1 learner who knows both words would grasp a general meaning of entering or intervening. However, the precise computing/debugging sense (moving program execution into a called function for step-by-step inspection) is a technical extension that requires domain knowledge, making the expression only partially predictable from its parts.
Etymology
In programming, step in gives the picture of taking a step in to a smaller room to see what people inside are doing. A debugger lets you do this with code by moving into a called function and watching each line run, so it means 'to move into a function to see what it does step-by-step'.