Synonyms

overstep

American

[oh-ver-step] / ˌoʊ vərˈstɛp /

verb (used with object)

overstepped, overstepping

to go beyond; exceed.

to overstep one's authority.

overstep British

/ ˌəʊvəˈstɛp /

verb

(tr) to go beyond (a certain or proper limit)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Some point out it’s a small percentage of visitors who overstep.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 12, 2025

Known to occasionally overstep with her kids by offering hugs or driving a child who missed the bus home, Justine swears she knows as little about the disappearance as everyone else in town.

From Salon • Aug. 8, 2025

Rather than adapting her impressions, Lewis is steadfast in her belief that "to make comedy funny, unfortunately you have to overstep the mark."

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2025

“The guidelines are just really a huge overstep I think in my opinion,” Bean told WXYZ-TV.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 12, 2024

To do so would be to overstep the bounds, and to display a bourgeois lack of cool.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023