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to two-step

to two-step

2 5.9
To move with a partner in quick then slow steps to music
  • verb
  • /ˈtuːˌstɛp/
  • US
translation icon : bailar el two-step
  • We gonna two-step, jump over the broom.
  • dance the two-step

Examples

  • If you are interested in picking up one of the most popular and useful dances in Arizona, learn to Two Step from us at Dance FX Studios.

    Blog text (9)
  • All right, y'all, two-step.

  • Outside, a woman and man danced the two-step in the parking lot.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • My heart... ♪ You know how to two-step?

  • Brandy pats her weave and two-steps like a boss throughout the video.

    Blog text (4)
  • "Then he took my hands and pulled me to my feet, and we did a kind of out-of-sync two-step together, with his hands at my waist and mine flopping awkwardly, out of place on his shoulders.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Earl said she wavered when she tried to do the two-step and almost tipped over, but she slowly progressed, and now Saturday night wasn't Saturday night if she wasn't out cutting a rug in the arms of some swinger.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Let's head to the dance floor and two-step to our favorite songs.

  • She loves to two-step at the country dance hall every Friday night.

  • After a few lessons, they were able to two-step gracefully together.

Synonyms

to dance
vsto two-step
579 1.0

To move quickly and lightly from side to side or up and down

is a specific partner activity using quick and slow steps
to tango
vsto two-step
11 3.9

To dance with a partner in the Argentine style using close steps

focuses on quick and slow step pattern rather than Latin styling
to foxtrot
vsto two-step
1 7.4

To dance in a smooth ballroom style with slow and quick steps

is livelier and faster in its quick and slow partner steps
to steppin'
vsto two-step
  • Informal
8.4

Move your feet in time with music as a dance

emphasizes specific quick and slow partner steps rather than general foot motion

How Energetic

to jump
1.0
stomp
14 4.8
to two-step
  • US
2 5.9
to dance
1.0
to sway
77 2.4

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

two-step = two-step (semi-transparent) = two + step

The verb is a conversion from the dance noun 'two-step', but the dance term itself is only partly predictable from its components.

Etymology

The word two-step comes from the simple parts two ('two') and step ('a movement of the foot'). It originally named a dance built around taking a pair of quick steps, so to two-step is to dance that lively partner pattern.