two-step

[ too-step ]

/ ˈtuˌstɛp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR two-step ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a ballroom dance in duple meter, marked by sliding steps.

a piece of music for, or in the rhythm of, this dance.

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

to dance the two-step.

Nearby words

two-speed, two-spirit, two-spot, two-spotted spider mite, two-star, two-step, two-step exercise test, two-stroke, two-stroke cycle, two-suiter, two-tailed

Origin of two-step

First recorded in 1890–95

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

Examples from the Web for two-step

Phase one of the two-step deficit-reduction deal involves about $1 trillion in spending cuts.
Washington’s Next Debt Showdown|Jill Lawrence|August 2, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps no member of the GOP has been as successful at this two-step as Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts.
The Summer's Winners and Losers|Samuel P. Jacobs|September 6, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Eventually Persis set a two-step record whirling on the machine.
What Will People Say?|Rupert Hughes
Almost every number was a waltz or a two-step, the music being the topical songs and popular airs of the day set to dance music.
Vandover and the Brute|Frank Norris

One would hardly recognize the waltz or two-step as performed by the Visayan.
A Woman's Journey through the Philippines|Florence Kimball Russel
When he appeared it was just in time for the first, a two-step.
Secret History Revealed By Lady Peggy O'Malley|C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson
The subscribers had begun to arrive, and when the first two-step struck up there were eight or ten couples on the floor.
The Woman Who Toils|Mrs. John Van Vorst and Marie Van Vorst

British Dictionary definitions for two-step

two-step

noun

an old-time dance in duple time

a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of such a dance

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