misstep
English
Etymology
From mis- + step.
Pronunciation
- (noun) IPA(key): /ˈmɪs.stɛp/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (verb) IPA(key): /mɪsˈstɛp/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - Rhymes: (verb) -ɛp
Noun
misstep (plural missteps)
- A step that is wrong, a false step.
- On a high ledge, a misstep could be fatal.
- 1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 8, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, OCLC 6868219:
- […] burdened as he was, he did not think of length or height or toil. He remembered only to avoid a misstep and to keep his direction.
- (figuratively) An error or mistake.
- His comment was a misstep that could cost him dearly.
- 2019 May 19, Alex McLevy, “The final Game Of Thrones brings a pensive but simple meditation about stories (newbies)”, in The A.V. Club:
- Plenty of past seasons’ events could look ill-conceived in the critical eye of Monday-morning quarterbacking, but previously, the show had earned the benefit of the doubt that missteps on the part of supposedly intelligent characters were a plausible lack of in-world foresight.
Synonyms
- (error): error, faux pas, mistake
Translations
step that is wrong
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error or mistake
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Verb
misstep (third-person singular simple present missteps, present participle misstepping, simple past and past participle misstepped)
- (intransitive) To step badly or incorrectly.
- My dance partner misstepped and landed on my toe.
- (intransitive) To make an error or mistake.
- I don't want to misstep by offending them.
Related terms
- overstep
Translations
to step badly or incorrectly
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to make an error or mistake
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Anagrams
- impests