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sidestep [ sahyd -step ] SHOW IPA
/ ˈsaɪdˌstɛp / PHONETIC RESPELLING
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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).
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Origin of sidestep An Americanism dating back to 1900–05
OTHER WORDS FROM sidestep sidestepper, noun
Words nearby sidestep sideslip ,
sidesman ,
sidespin ,
sidesplitter ,
sidesplitting ,
sidestep ,
sidestream smoke ,
side street ,
sidestroke ,
sideswipe ,
side table
Other definitions for sidestep (2 of 2)
noun
a step to one side, as in dancing, skiing, or boxing.
Origin of side step First recorded in 1840–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Words related to sidestep avoid ,
bypass ,
duck ,
evade ,
fudge ,
skirt ,
ditch ,
elude ,
escape ,
juke ,
pussyfoot ,
shake ,
shirk ,
weasel ,
get around ,
get out of ,
give the slip ,
go around ,
shake off ,
skip out on
How to use sidestep in a sentence It can be extremely awkward to ask a friend to put their mask on when they aren’t eating or to sidestep a hug from a loved one.
Hirshland, for her part, sidestep s the issue in her tweet and doesn’t try to suggest what a divisive demonstration might look like.
Both ads sidestep seasonal cliches, albeit from opposite ends of the spectrum.
On the walk home through my Left Bank neighborhood, I sidestep ped a restaurant that was packed both inside and at the tables set up along the sidewalk.
That’s enabled its permit customers to sidestep heavy fines while delaying introduction of low-margin EVs, and packing their fleets with lucrative, gas-guzzling SUVs, trucks, and vans.
But Pragnell is hoping Casa Bruja will sidestep the trend's downturn.
A man appears to sidestep Graham as she walks by, then begins to follow her.
Justice Thurgood Marshall saw this sidestep for what it was.
The only question now is whether Boehner has the onions to sidestep the radicals.
Sidestep snobby French cab drivers by hiring an iPad-toting chauffeur-driven car.
Rapid fire legs sidestep the etchings of industrious ants while silverfish are the boatmen trouncing human oars.
When you seek to escape you find yourself backed up to the wall with no chance to sidestep .
"I just somehow kain't git over the notion she ought to sidestep them little rocks and holes of her own accord," he exclaimed.
By the time Kinton's aging muscles obeyed his impulse to sidestep , the spear had already hurtled past.
It was advantageous to sidestep the Crown since a letter or document took half a year to reach Spain.
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British Dictionary definitions for 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 forms of sidestep sidestepper , noun Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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