sidestep

[sahyd-step]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sidestep ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), side·stepped, side·step·ping.

to step to one side.

to evade or avoid a decision, problem, or the like.

verb (used with object), side·stepped, side·step·ping.

to avoid or dodge by stepping aside.

to evade or avoid (a decision, problem, or the like).

Origin of sidestep

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Related formsside·step·per, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sidestep

skirt, avoid, evade, bypass, duck, fudge, pussyfoot, escape, elude, weasel, shake, shirk, ditch, juke

Examples from the Web for sidestep

Contemporary Examples of sidestep

But Pragnell is hoping Casa Bruja will sidestep the trend's downturn.
House of the Witch: The Renegade Craft Brewers of Panama
Jeff Campagna
November 30, 2014
A man appears to sidestep Graham as she walks by, then begins to follow her.
Person of Interest Identified in Disappearance of UVA Student Hannah Graham
Julia Horowitz
September 19, 2014
Justice Thurgood Marshall saw this sidestep for what it was.
Affirmative Action Isn’t Oppressive, but the Roberts Court Wants to End It Anyway
Mike Sacks
April 23, 2014
The only question now is whether Boehner has the onions to sidestep the radicals.
Immigration, Round 2: Still a Reach
Michael Tomasky
January 2, 2014
Sidestep snobby French cab drivers by hiring an iPad-toting chauffeur-driven car.
The 15 Hottest New Apps at Dublin’s Web Summit
Tom Sykes
October 31, 2013

Historical Examples of sidestep

It took us all night to sidestep that outrage, but we did it.
At Good Old Siwash
George Fitch
He saw that Cheever was quicker than he at the feint and the sidestep.
We Can't Have Everything
Rupert Hughes
When a man has anything somebody gets it before he can sidestep.
The Fighting Chance
Robert W. Chambers
Maybe he could sidestep the lessons before she pinned him down.
The Southerner
Thomas Dixon
Cautiously, prepared for a lunge or a sidestep, Kazan advanced a little.
Kazan
James Oliver Curwood

British Dictionary definitions for sidestep

sidestep

verb -steps, -stepping or -stepped

to step aside from or out of the way of (something)

(tr) to dodge or circumvent

noun side step

a movement to one side, as in dancing, boxing, etc

Derived Formssidestepper, noun

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

Word Origin and History for sidestep

also side-step, 1757, "a stepping to the side" (originally in military drill), from side (adj.) + step (n.). The verb is recorded from 1895; the figurative sense is attested from 1900.