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• half step
  half step

  noun

  semitone.
• half-step
  half-step

  noun

  music another word for semitone

half step

American  

noun

1. Music. semitone.

2. Military. a step 15 inches (38 centimeters) long in quick time and 18 inches (46 centimeters) long in double time.

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half-step British  

noun

1. music another word for semitone

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Etymology

Origin of half step

First recorded in 1900–05

Compare meaning

How does half-step compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• whole step vs. half step

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

half step half-step

I’m standing a foot from him, but I take a half step forward so we’re only inches apart and say, Patrick.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

I’m a half step away from calling the animal communicator.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2024

This is a half step where a whole step is needed.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2023

Lose just a half step in the NBA, and you may never get another shot.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 17, 2021

Izzy took a half step back from the doorway, and the storm door, which she’d been holding open with her foot, gave a faint shriek.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Todd Blanche, Mr. Trump’s lead lawyer, stood a half-step behind, mimicking his client’s scowl.

From New York Times ● May 30, 2024

Then, a half-step backward against the Minnesota Wild.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 11, 2023

Palestinian analyst Talal Okal said the diplomatic appointment was a half-step toward an official Saudi representation office in the occupied West Bank.

From Reuters ● Aug. 12, 2023

Taking a half-step back with his left foot as the pitch was delivered helped Muncy get his body into a position where he “wasn’t working so uphill and so down underneath the ball,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2023

He’d lost a half-step, and was more deliberate in his movements, but otherwise he was completely recognizable.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis