See step back in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for step back meaning in English (4.6kB)
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "steps back",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "stepping back",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "stepped back",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "stepped back",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "step back (third-person singular simple present steps back, present participle stepping back, simple past and past participle stepped back)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2022 January 12, “Network News: Nexus inspects Beamish lines”, in RAIL, number 948, page 14",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see step, back."
],
"id": "en-step_back-en-verb-2oa1ZkPA",
"links": [
[
"step",
"step#English"
],
[
"back",
"back#English"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Perhaps we should step back for a second and think about solving this problem a different way.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "2022 November 16, Mel Holley, “Rail strikes halted to allow for \"intensive negotiations\"”, in RAIL, page 8",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To stop what one is doing and evaluate the current situation."
],
"id": "en-step_back-en-verb-2dF-dWa8",
"links": [
[
"stop",
"stop"
],
[
"evaluate",
"evaluate"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To stop what one is doing and evaluate the current situation."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"text": "As a therapist sometimes you have to step back from your clients' lives.",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To prevent oneself from becoming emotionally involved in a certain situation."
],
"id": "en-step_back-en-verb-bCDQT9m4",
"links": [
[
"prevent",
"prevent"
],
[
"emotionally",
"emotionally"
],
[
"involved",
"involved"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To prevent oneself from becoming emotionally involved in a certain situation."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Rail transportation",
"orig": "en:Rail transportation",
"parents": [
"Transport",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "16 6 15 18 46",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "19 13 14 15 39",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English phrasal verbs with particle (back)",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"glosses": [
"to depart driving the train following the train they arrived into the station driving, so as to decrease service turnaround time."
],
"id": "en-step_back-en-verb-KJg8Qn5k",
"links": [
[
"rail transport",
"rail transport"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(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."
],
"raw_tags": [
"of a driver at a terminal station"
],
"topics": [
"rail-transport",
"railways",
"transport"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-step back.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/13/En-au-step_back.ogg/En-au-step_back.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/En-au-step_back.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "step back"
}
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "steps back",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "steps back"
},
"expansion": "step back (plural steps back)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [],
"glosses": [
"A reversion to a former state or situation."
],
"id": "en-step_back-en-noun-S0uN9wHD",
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) A reversion to a former state or situation."
],
"related": [
{
"topics": [
"rail-transport",
"railways",
"transport"
],
"word": "double-end"
},
{
"topics": [
"rail-transport",
"railways",
"transport"
],
"word": "double-ending"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-step back.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/13/En-au-step_back.ogg/En-au-step_back.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/En-au-step_back.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "step back"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"English phrasal verbs",
"English phrasal verbs with particle (back)",
"English terms with audio links",
"English verbs"
],
"forms": [
{
"form": "steps back",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "stepping back",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "stepped back",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "stepped back",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "step back (third-person singular simple present steps back, present participle stepping back, simple past and past participle stepped back)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2022 January 12, “Network News: Nexus inspects Beamish lines”, in RAIL, number 948, page 14",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see step, back."
],
"links": [
[
"step",
"step#English"
],
[
"back",
"back#English"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Perhaps we should step back for a second and think about solving this problem a different way.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "2022 November 16, Mel Holley, “Rail strikes halted to allow for \"intensive negotiations\"”, in RAIL, page 8",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To stop what one is doing and evaluate the current situation."
],
"links": [
[
"stop",
"stop"
],
[
"evaluate",
"evaluate"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To stop what one is doing and evaluate the current situation."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English terms with usage examples"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "As a therapist sometimes you have to step back from your clients' lives.",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To prevent oneself from becoming emotionally involved in a certain situation."
],
"links": [
[
"prevent",
"prevent"
],
[
"emotionally",
"emotionally"
],
[
"involved",
"involved"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To prevent oneself from becoming emotionally involved in a certain situation."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"en:Rail transportation"
],
"glosses": [
"to depart driving the train following the train they arrived into the station driving, so as to decrease service turnaround time."
],
"links": [
[
"rail transport",
"rail transport"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(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."
],
"raw_tags": [
"of a driver at a terminal station"
],
"topics": [
"rail-transport",
"railways",
"transport"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-step back.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/13/En-au-step_back.ogg/En-au-step_back.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/En-au-step_back.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "step back"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"English phrasal verbs",
"English phrasal verbs with particle (back)",
"English terms with audio links",
"English verbs"
],
"forms": [
{
"form": "steps back",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "steps back"
},
"expansion": "step back (plural steps back)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"topics": [
"rail-transport",
"railways",
"transport"
],
"word": "double-end"
},
{
"topics": [
"rail-transport",
"railways",
"transport"
],
"word": "double-ending"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English idioms"
],
"glosses": [
"A reversion to a former state or situation."
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) A reversion to a former state or situation."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-step back.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/13/En-au-step_back.ogg/En-au-step_back.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/En-au-step_back.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "step back"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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