false step
a stumble.
an unwise or blundering act.
Words Nearby false step
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use false step in a sentence
Especially at a time like this when the cultural reflex is to vilify every false step.
The 2021 Olympics Are an Inspiring, Infuriating Shitshow | Kevin Fallon | July 30, 2021 | The Daily BeastIn fact, in many ways the themes raised were sand traps waiting for a false step.
Cartagena Summit’s Other Outrage: Obama’s Indifference to Latin Issues | Mac Margolis | April 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTHe was black and he has always known that one false step and he was down and out.
I repented directly the false step was taken, but, like a true Briton, I was too proud to go back.
The World Before Them | Susanna MoodieTheir genius travels over as many lines as there are lineaments in the figure, and the least false step would deform it.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume IX (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
Every time I made a false step, I had to devise some new “miracle” by way of counterblast.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont | Louis de RougemontAnd both he and Godfrey knew that one false step meant a death almost too horrible for words.
Motor Matt's Daring, or, True to His Friends | Stanley R. MatthewsOne false step, one blunder, would be fatal, and we have known the other members of the party to make these blunders.
Seeing Things at Night | Heywood Broun
British Dictionary definitions for false step
an unwise action
a stumble; slip
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with false step
A stumble or blunder, as in Making a down payment without securing a mortgage was clearly a false step. This term transfers physical stumbling or tripping to other enterprises. [c. 1700]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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