false step

American  

noun

1. a stumble.

2. an unwise or blundering act.

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false step British  

noun

1. an unwise action

2. a stumble; slip

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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]

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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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2019

One false step can lead to a fall into a stream underneath.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 13, 2018

If you think about it hard enough, if you trace potential reverberations long enough, every step can be a false step, any move can lead to an unintended consequence.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan