Dictionary

step back en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• audio Queensland
• /step ˈbæk/ (Australia)
• /stɛp ˈbæk/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• /step ˈbɛk/ (New-Zealand)

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) A setback, downgrade, or deterioration.
   • Switching to more frequent meetings was a step back for that team, which had too many meetings already.
2. (idiomatic) A reversion to a former state or situation.

Forms

Antonyms

leg up

Relateds

double-end · double-ending

Synonyms

restoration · restitution · deconversion · regression · regression · deconversion · step back · restitution · reversion

step back en · VERB

Pronunciation

• audio Queensland
• /step ˈbæk/ (Australia)
• /stɛp ˈbæk/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• /step ˈbɛk/ (New-Zealand)

Meanings

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see step, back.
   • Entering Avebury from any direction is like stepping back into the past. Before the centre of the village is reached, the road passes through an immense circle of brooding stones which stand like petrified ghosts of an age about which little is known. 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 40:
   • Engineers from the Tyne & Wear Metro stepped back in time in December, to conduct a safety-critical inspection of the tramway at the open-air Beamish Museum in County Durham. 2022 January 12, “Network News: Nexus inspects Beamish lines”, in RAIL, number 948, page 14:
2. (idiomatic) To stop what one is doing and evaluate the current situation.
   • Perhaps we should step back for a second and think about solving this problem a different way.
   • Making the announcement at 1600 on Friday November 4, the RDG [...] said in a statement: "It is positive that the RMT leadership has stepped back from the brink and called off their strike action. 2022 November 16, Mel Holley, “Rail strikes halted to allow for "intensive negotiations"”, in RAIL, page 8:
3. (idiomatic) To prevent oneself from becoming emotionally involved in a certain situation.
   • As a therapist sometimes you have to step back from your clients' lives.
4. (of a driver at a terminal station) to depart driving the train following the train they arrived into the station driving, so as to decrease service turnaround time.
5. (idiomatic) To retreat from one's duties in a job; to reduce one's duties, often as a prelude to leaving a position; to take a back seat.
   • He's stepping back from the role to let you start in it.
6. (idiomatic) To quietly abandon a belief.
   • You need to step back from the threat you made.

Forms

Translations (1)

eo retropaŝi (take a step opposite of the direction one is facing)