overstep
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overstepsimple
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overstepssimple
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have oversteppedperfect
-
has oversteppedperfect
-
am oversteppingprogressive
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are oversteppingprogressive
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is oversteppingprogressive
-
have been oversteppingperfect progressive
-
has been oversteppingperfect progressive
Past
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oversteppedsimple
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had oversteppedperfect
-
was oversteppingprogressive
-
were oversteppingprogressive
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had been oversteppingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overstep
before 1000; Middle English oversteppen, Old English ofersteppan. See over-, step
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 after decades of interacting with others, I trust my instincts not to overstep, to know when to stay in my own lane when the other lane doesn’t seem receptive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
Pike testified that it was not his job “to overstep and tell him what to do. He earned that rank.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
"I know there have been complaints about it but I don't want to speak too much about it and overstep the mark," he said.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025
Our three-branch system of government relies on each branch serving as a check on the other branches' power, ensuring that they don't overstep their authority and boundaries.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2025
Relief washes over me that Mom didn’t overstep, but now I feel stupid, because I’ve just given her dirt on me that I didn’t want her to have.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Society loses sight of human reality “when the economy turns against the person or science oversteps the limits of its competence,” he writes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
In the annals of strategic oversteps in America’s post-9/11 forever war, our shoeless airport security lines will go down as a footnote.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2025
Watch as England miss three big chances to pick up Australian wickets as Jonny Bairstow misses a stumping and drops a catch and Stuart Broad oversteps after bowling Usman Khawaja.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2023
It really comes to a head in these last episodes, when Nate oversteps with Keeley, which was inappropriate and just wrong in lots of ways.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2021
“Someone tend the babe before he oversteps himself,” the noble said to the crowd.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
"The Court has concluded that the Board overstepped its statutory bounds by unilaterally renaming the Kennedy Center after President Trump," Judge Christopher Cooper ruled.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
Still, Hoppock said, CBP had overstepped in its aggressive handling of the matter, which he called “really something.”
From Salon ● May 14, 2026
The court ruled 6-3 that Mr. Trump overstepped his authority by using emergency powers to bypass Congress and impose tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico to address trade imbalances and stop drug smuggling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
On 22, Smith was caught at cover, only for replays to show Green overstepped.
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2026
He was put out that I had overstepped myself in denying that I would profit from biochemistry.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
The mission directors then sued Unilever for overstepping its rights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
I want to teach my young relative good money habits without overstepping the parents’ authority.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 16, 2026
A message on 29 December showed Ms Bunyan saying she was not a "threat to Mr Renteria's family" and that she admitted overstepping boundaries, but felt Mr Renteria had done the same.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2025
Oliver and the other doctors are fallible, be it freezing up during a spinal tap or completely overstepping into their patients’ personal lives to facilitate a father-daughter reunion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2024
Dad gave me a sharp look, and I knew I needed to make my point quickly or risk overstepping.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
Definitions 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.
