sidestep

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-der.

Proto-Germanic *sīdaz

Proto-Germanic *sīdǭ

Old English sīde

Middle English side

English side

Proto-Germanic *stapjaną

Proto-West Germanic *stappjan

Old English stæppan

Middle English steppen

English step

English sidestep

From side + step.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsaɪdˌstɛp/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

sidestep (plural sidesteps)

1. A step to the side.
2. A physical motion or metaphorical act to avoid or dodge something.

Verb

sidestep (third-person singular simple present sidesteps, present participle sidestepping, simple past and past participle sidestepped)

1. (intransitive) To step to the side.
   • 1955 October, Rex Stout, “Die Like a Dog”, in Three Witnesses, Bantam, published 1994, →ISBN, page 180:

     I […] knocked and waited. […] He sidestepped, and I went in.

   • 2011 October 1, Clive Lindsay, “Kilmarnock 1 - 2 St Johnstone”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Kilmarnock ought to have taken the lead on the stroke of half-time when Hefferman set up Kroca and, although the defender neatly sidestepped his marker, he fired straight into the chest of Enckelman.

2. (transitive, figurative) To avoid or dodge.

   They sidestepped the issue.

   • 1960 November, “Talking of Trains: That engine change at Crewe”, in Trains Illustrated, page 641:

     It was noticeable that he sidestepped questions about continuation south of Crewe, on the grounds that he must await the report of Sir Ivan Stedeford's Advisory Group.

   • 2022 May 5, Kara Scannell and Zachary Cohen, “DOJ unwinds complex web in hunt for Russian wealth belonging to Putin and influential players”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     Adams repeatedly sidestepped questions about whether the Justice Department is taking specific steps to seize assets belonging to Putin but suggested that prosecutors have mapped out how the Russian President and wealthy kleptocrats are attempting to hide their money.

Derived terms

• sidestepper

Translations

to step to the side

• Bulgarian: отстъпвам настрани (otstǎpvam nastrani)
• German: ausweichen (de), ausspielen (de) (football)
• Spanish: ladear (es)
• Welsh: ochrgamu (cy)

(figurative) to avoid or dodge — see also steer clear

• Bulgarian: страня (bg) (stranja), избягвам (bg) (izbjagvam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 規避 / 规避 (zh) (guībì), 迴避 / 回避 (zh) (huíbì)

• German: ausweichen (de), vermeiden (de)
• Italian: eludere (it)
• Māori: wheta, karo
• Spanish: soslayar (es)
• Welsh: ochrgamu (cy)

Anagrams

• despites, seed pits, stepside