step back

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Synonyms: steps back, stop back, set back, keep back, swept back, sweptback, snap back, stay back, skew back, slip back, sweep back

Antonyms: steps back, stop back, set back, keep back, swept back, sweptback, snap back, stay back, skew back, slip back, sweep back

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Verb

1. {{&lit|en|step|back}}
2. {{lb|en|idiomatic}} To [[stop]] what one is doing and [[evaluate]] the current situation.
3. {{lb|en|idiomatic}} To [[prevent]] oneself from becoming [[emotionally]] [[involved]] in a certain situation.
4. {{lb|en|rail transport|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. {{lb|en|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]].
6. {{lb|en|idiomatic}} To quietly abandon a belief.

Noun

1. {{lb|en|idiomatic}} A [[setback#Noun|setback]], [[downgrade#Noun|downgrade]], or [[deterioration]].
2. {{lb|en|idiomatic}} A [[reversion]] to a former state or situation.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.