footstep
Americannoun
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footsteps
plural
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the setting down of a foot, or the sound so produced; footfall; tread.
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the distance covered by a step in walking; pace.
-
a footprint.
-
a step by which to ascend or descend.
idioms
noun
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the action of taking a step in walking
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the sound made by stepping or walking
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the distance covered with a step; pace
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a footmark
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a single stair; step
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to continue the tradition or example of another
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of footstep
First recorded in 1175–1225, footstep is from Middle English foote steppe. See foot, step
Vocabulary lists containing footstep
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But he said the appointment was a "significant footstep towards a new society where the Irish language is treated with dignity and equality".
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2025
The duo went 1-2 in the 200, with Coleman beating his older teammate for the first time, edging him by a footstep, 21.01 to 21.27.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2023
“Hopefully, people will follow in the footstep of my brother Hazzaa and my footsteps,” al-Neyadi said, the flags for the UAE and its space center hanging behind him.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2023
“I don’t see myself doing nothing else. I’m almost there. Being a cadet gave me a footstep in the door.”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 18, 2021
I walked behind Red while my stomach grumbled with each footstep, the chant of food, food, food.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Instead, he went to truck driving school and later went into gang intervention work, following in the footsteps of other men and women who lived through the extreme violence of the 1980s and 1990s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Newsom has built his iconography around an image of a young man following in his father’s footsteps while also being raised by a long-suffering single mother and overcoming his dyslexia.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026
Some young protesters now see themselves as walking in the footsteps of the 2018 yellow-vest movement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
His son Marshall has followed in his father’s football footsteps and attends Baylor School in Chattanooga, where he plays quarterback.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
He had let go of Daniel but heard his footsteps behind him.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
