sidestep
Americanverb (used without object)
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to step to one side.
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to evade or avoid a decision, problem, or the like.
verb (used with object)
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to avoid or dodge by stepping aside.
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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
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are sidesteppingprogressive
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is sidesteppingprogressive
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have been sidesteppingperfect progressive
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has been sidesteppingperfect progressive
Past
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sidesteppedsimple
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had sidesteppedperfect
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was sidesteppingprogressive
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were sidesteppingprogressive
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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.
But unlike Australia's law, tech firms could sidestep Canada's ban if they demonstrate they have policies to minimise harm to minors.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
The “divisive matter of race,” the authors write, “which the founding fathers had tried to sidestep, would emerge as the seminal issue during the next fifty years.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
The panel, though, says it would like to see the academy sidestep its usual voting habits and honor some genre work as well.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
Senate in Michigan is trying to sidestep another internecine fight by keeping his eye on the goal.
From Slate • Apr. 29, 2026
It’s still a playground rocket, not a real one, but every time I turn the wheel to the left, the trees in the park lift up their roots and sidestep it to the left.
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
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.
