false step

American  

noun

1. a stumble.

2. an unwise or blundering act.

---

false step British  

noun

1. an unwise action

2. a stumble; slip

---

false step Idioms  

1. 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]

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

false step

Rather, it’s the poignant devastation of knowing one false step or bad decision could reshape your life that knocks us over.

From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2025

Don’t make a false step of your own in this week’s Slate News Quiz.

From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2023

Bill Belichick creates a culture of accountability and diligence and also can correct the right guard when he takes a false step on a trap block.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2021

But in his mind, he was just one false step from going right back to prison.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2019

It’s worth looking at this false step before discussing Descartes’s influence in areas where he was more right than wrong.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin