MEANING
To avoid confronting a question, duty, or obstacle by moving around it.
Use it for
indirect avoidance; protective evasivenessShow a character steering the encounter away from a feared point.
Words that belong together
- sidestep a question
- sidestep confrontation
- sidestep an obstacle
On the page
She sidestepped the question about who had threatened her.
He tried to sidestep a confrontation by discussing the timetable instead.
Fear of losing the contract made the manager sidestep the safety complaint.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- sidestep / sidesteps
- Past tense
- sidestepped
- Past participle
- sidestepped
- Present participle
- sidestepping
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- sidestep / sidesteps
- Present continuous
- am/is/are sidestepping
- Present perfect
- have/has sidestepped
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been sidestepping
- Past
- sidestepped
- Past continuous
- was/were sidestepping
- Past perfect
- had sidestepped
- Past perfect continuous
- had been sidestepping
- Future
- will sidestep / sidesteps
- Future continuous
- will be sidestepping
- Future perfect
- will have sidestepped
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been sidestepping
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: fear. Literal sideways movement is also possible. In fear contexts, it often implies calculated avoidance rather than inability to act. Verb forms (base, third-person singular, past, past participle, -ing): sidestep, sidesteps, sidestepped, sidestepped, sidestepping.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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