sidestep
Americanverb (used without object)
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sidesteps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sidestepped,
past participle, past
-
sidestepping
present participle
-
to step to one side.
-
to evade or avoid a decision, problem, or the like.
verb (used with object)
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sidesteps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sidestepped,
past participle, past
-
sidestepping
present participle
-
to avoid or dodge by stepping aside.
-
to evade or avoid (a decision, problem, or the like).
verb
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to step aside from or out of the way of (something)
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(tr) to dodge or circumvent
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sidestepsimple
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sidestepssimple
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have sidesteppedperfect
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has sidesteppedperfect
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am sidesteppingprogressive
-
are sidesteppingprogressive
-
is sidesteppingprogressive
-
have been sidesteppingperfect progressive
-
has been sidesteppingperfect progressive
Past
-
sidesteppedsimple
-
had sidesteppedperfect
-
was sidesteppingprogressive
-
were sidesteppingprogressive
-
had been sidesteppingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sidestep
An Americanism dating back to 1900–05
Explanation
To sidestep something is to get around it by changing the subject or doing something else. If a little kid asks you where babies come from, you might sidestep the question by going to get ice cream. Very quickly. People sidestep questions all the time. When celebrities or politicians don’t want to talk about something, they sidestep reporters’ questions by answering in a long-winded, vague way — or by saying, "No comment." You can also sidestep in a more literal way by physically stepping around things, or stepping to the side in a dance or march. The military term was first used in the eighteenth century, and the figurative meaning followed around 1900.
Vocabulary lists containing sidestep
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:
However, low-volatility names managed to sidestep this latest move lower.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2026
That’s especially true for Saudi Arabia, which turned to its East-West pipeline and exports through the Red Sea to sidestep the trouble in Hormuz.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
One workaround is for data-center operators to sidestep the grid by building their own power plants on or near their massive gigawatt-scale campuses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Expect him to sidestep such tricky questions and instead talk up the importance of building relationships and respecting the Good Friday Agreement.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
It grew harder and harder to run, with the branches and knots of the trees forcing me to scoot and sidestep, but eventually I forced my way through and stumbled into a clearing.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
But local environmental campaigners say it sidesteps the "elephant in the room" of Turkey's ongoing reliance on coal and obscures the fact it has effectively become "Europe's dumping ground" for plastic waste.
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026
But the film sidesteps the fact that Liam spent the mourning period criticising his brother for his failure to appear at charity shows supporting the survivors.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
But while the settlement sidesteps any admission of wrongdoing by the company, it does compel Meta to combat problems few parents knew existed, in terms far starker than those it has articulated before.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Every time a leader avoids a hard truth, sidesteps a real tension or makes disagreement feel risky, you pay a hefty price: conversational debt.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
She sidesteps me and marches toward the door.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
While Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet traded in the red, they sidestepped most of the pain coursing through the AI supply chain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Bass also sidestepped questions from The Times at the September event about whether she’d welcome Caruso’s endorsement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
For months, investors remained so fixated on earnings that AI stocks mostly sidestepped the pain felt by shares of small-capitalization companies and other more interest-rate-sensitive names.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 18, 2026
Asked about the prospect of another referendum following the PQ win, Carney sidestepped.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
When she sidestepped the newcomer, it took me a moment to register who it was.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Armed with flashlights, dozens of community members stepped into the darkened Westlake Theatre, sidestepping puddles and broken glass as they imagined what the century-old movie palace could become.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
But Terry Smith, sometimes called “the English Warren Buffett,” shocked his remaining fans this month by sidestepping that mantra.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
SpaceX would like to make it a much bigger business in the future via its plans for orbital data centers, sidestepping the limitations of land and power which are posing increasing obstacles for terrestrial facilities.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Cerebras’ unusually large artificial-intelligence chips excel at running models at speed, while also sidestepping some of the networking and packaging required for connecting thousands of high-end processors from Nvidia or other chip makers.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
The other teams did it the regular way, sort of, sidestepping and waiting for the runner to hand them the stick before taking off.
From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds
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