step out
Britishverb
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to go outside or leave a room, building, etc, esp briefly
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to begin to walk more quickly and take longer strides
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informal to withdraw from involvement; bow out
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informal to be a boyfriend or girlfriend (of someone), esp publicly
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Walk briskly, as in He stepped out in time to the music . [c. 1800]
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Also, step outside . Go outside briefly, as in He just stepped out for a cigarette . [First half of 1500s]
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Go out for an evening of entertainment, as in They're stepping out again tonight .
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step out with . Accompany or consort with a person as when going on a date, as in She's been stepping out with him for a month . [ Colloquial ; early 1900s]
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.
As Garcia tries to step out, Silva and Yuhas try to grab him.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
Women also step out of the workforce in greater numbers than men for child-rearing and eldercare, often right around that crucial age of 35 when men’s cumulative earnings go up and women’s go down.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 6, 2026
"It's that desire to step out of the commercial world, step out of all those sorts of bits of life, step back from phone use."
From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026
She describes herself as standing in a shadow that she cannot step out of; then she feels she is “standing on nothing—as there is nothing to stand on.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
Here’s the funny part: I never step out of the lab for long enough to get any kind of sunlight.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
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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.