overstep
UK /ˌəʊvəˈstɛp/ · US /ˌoʊvɚˈstɛp/ verb, noun
Forms oversteps overstepping overstepped
- verb (transitive) To go too far beyond (a limit); especially, to cross boundaries or exceed norms or conventions. “That color scheme really oversteps the bounds of good taste.”
- verb To take a step in which the foot touches ground too far forward.
- verb To move with a gait such that the hind foot touches the ground forward of the point where the front foot touches the ground.
- noun A gait in which the hind foot touches ground in front of where the front foot touches the ground.
- noun A movement in which one oversteps.
- noun A decision or action that goes too far.
Synonyms
transgress outstep trespass exceed transcend pass go past top
Etymology
From Middle English *oversteppen, from Old English ofersteppan, from Proto-Germanic *uberstapjaną (“to step over; overstep”). Cognate with Dutch overstappen, German Low German överstappen, German überstapfen, überstepfen. Cf. transgress. By surface analysis, over- + step.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To step over or beyond; to transgress. Shak.
Etymology [AS. ofersteppan.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “overstep”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details