overstep
Americanverb (used with object)
-
oversteps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overstepped,
past participle, past
-
overstepping
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overstepsimple
-
overstepssimple
-
have oversteppedperfect
-
has oversteppedperfect
-
am oversteppingprogressive
-
are oversteppingprogressive
-
is oversteppingprogressive
-
have been oversteppingperfect progressive
-
has been oversteppingperfect progressive
Past
-
oversteppedsimple
-
had oversteppedperfect
-
was oversteppingprogressive
-
were oversteppingprogressive
-
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:
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
While offside against Haaland was technically correct in law, it was an overstep by the VAR.
From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2026
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
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
US District Judge Donald Molloy agreed with TikTok, saying that it "violates the Constitution in more ways than one" and "oversteps state power".
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 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
In a 6-3 decision, justices on the highest US court found that the president had overstepped his powers when he introduced sweeping global tariffs last year using the IEEPA.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
Last year, the justices issued temporary orders to block several of his initiatives, but Friday’s ruling is the first to hold that the president overstepped his legal authority.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
Late in December, Seabiscuit overstepped in a workout and kicked himself in the left foreleg, dinging the suspensory ligament.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
"No matter what your beliefs, you should be able to do your role as a councillor without abuse from the wider public and people should be able to debate without overstepping boundaries," Madgwich said.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
This column would love to believe that this story is about a vice president overstepping his authority.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Talk to some folks in your family whom you trust to make sure you’re not overstepping any unspoken boundaries that underlie family relationships.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 15, 2025
A: Sometimes, you have to be direct with people who are overstepping.
From Seattle Times ● May 2, 2024
If it is not overstepping myself, I would greatly appreciate your telling me if you find being a nun very satisfactory, in a spiritual way, of course.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
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.
