Step

Question

What is the meaning of "miss a step" ?For example, "He missed a step and fell down".Does the "step" refer to "the single complete movement of raising one foot and putting it down in another spot, as in walking" or "one step of a stairway" ?

Sam1947 · Accepted Answer

In the context of this sentence it means missed a step on a stairway or the steps that go up or down from a porch or doorstep.

Miss a step can also mean to miss a move in a dance sequence. "The cha cha that the couple did for the dance exhibit was excellent, except that the female dancer missed a step toward the end of the routine."

Or, it can mean to miss a one procedure in a sequential task, such as, "When assembling the new table, she missed a step, and now the table leg is not stable because one of the screws was not put in that would have held it steady."

or

I must have missed a step in doing my exercise for my computer class because the data table that I tried to set up in Excel did not work properly.

Hope these examples help!

Debpriya De · Answer

Okay, thanks.
I have another question. Do "false step" and "misstep" mean the same thing ?

Sam1947 · Answer

Either can mean a blunder, but misstep is often used to mean a social blunder or faux pas.

Step

Does the "step" refer to "the single complete movement of raising one foot and putting it down in another spot, as in walking" or "one step of a stairway" ?

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