goose step

¹ American  

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.

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goose-step ² American  

[goos-step] / ˈgusˌstɛp /

verb (used without object)

goose-stepped, goose-stepping

1. to march in a goose step.

   Troops goose-stepped past the reviewing stand.

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goose step British  

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

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verb

1. (intr) to march in goose step

goose step Cultural  

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.

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Discover More

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

Etymology

Origin of goose step¹

First recorded in 1800–10

Origin of goose-step²

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Soldiers marched in goose step under a red arch emblazoned with the hammer and sickle as cannons fired 100 rounds.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2021

The encroaching threat of Nazism is communicated overtly in Masteroff’s book and in Marshall’s choreography, like when a chorus kick line seamlessly transitions into a goose step.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 15, 2017

Elle Fanning in “The Nutcracker in 3D,” in which rat soldiers ominously goose step.

From New York Times • Nov. 24, 2010

And for birds of a feather to goose step together, someone must make the first move.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2010

During the first part of this performance the host women congregated in the far end of the enclosure are all dancing a sort of non-progressive goose step, there being, however, no singing.

From The Mafulu Mountain People of British New Guinea by Williamson, Robert Wood