goose step

¹

noun

1. a marching step of some infantries in which the legs are swung high and kept straight and stiff.

2. a military exercise in which the body is balanced on one foot, without advancing, while the other foot is swung forward and back.

goose-step

²

[goos-step]

verb (used without object)

goose-stepped, goose-stepping 

1. to march in a goose step.

   Troops goose-stepped past the reviewing stand.

goose step

noun

1. a military march step in which the leg is swung rigidly to an exaggerated height, esp as in the German army in the Third Reich

2. an abnormal gait in animals

verb

1. (intr) to march in goose step

goose step

1. A straight-legged style of military marching used by the armies of several nations, but associated particularly with the army of Germany under the Nazis.

The term is sometimes used to suggest the unthinking loyalty of followers or soldiers: “Brown has a goose-step mentality.”

Other Word Forms

• goose-stepper noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of goose step¹

First recorded in 1800–10

Origin of goose step²

First recorded in 1875–80