sidestep
Americanverb (used without object)
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to step to one side.
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to evade or avoid a decision, problem, or the like.
verb (used with object)
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to avoid or dodge by stepping aside.
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to evade or avoid (a decision, problem, or the like).
verb
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to step aside from or out of the way of (something)
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(tr) to dodge or circumvent
noun
Other Word Forms
- sidestepper noun
Etymology
Origin of sidestep
An Americanism dating back to 1900–05
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her women aren’t triumphing so much as sidestepping death, and forced to live with their choices’ aftereffects for years to come.
From Los Angeles Times
Tariffs tied to "country of origin" rules still apply regardless of where a company is headquartered, meaning businesses cannot easily sidestep Chinese supply chains.
From BBC
He is pressing ahead with a roughly $30 million expansion of his factory in Tennessee, convinced that he needs to localize more production in the U.S. to sidestep tariffs.
Nonetheless, President Lincoln decided to pragmatically sidestep the legal contradictions and agreed in the summer of 1862 to a comprehensive prisoner cartel.
When asked how he would restore the world’s confidence in the United States if he were to become president, Newsom sidestepped.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
