side·step
ˈsīd-ˌstep 
sidestepped; sidestepping; sidesteps
2
: to move out of the way of : avoid
sidestep a blow
sidestepper
noun
1
: a step aside (as in boxing to avoid a blow)
2
: a step taken sideways (as when climbing on skis)
Synonyms
Examples of sidestep in a Sentence
Verb
She sidestepped the reporter's question.
They're sidestepping the real issue.
Recent Examples on the Web
Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY, 15 May 2024
During his annual kick-off press conference, festival boss Thierry Fremaux sidestepped the looming issues and tried to center the main attraction and the core mission of delivering world-class cinema.
—Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 May 2024
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that the majority sidestepped the important question: Whether Nealy’s claim was valid to begin with, or whether copyright holders should have to show some kind of fraud in order to sue over older violations.
—Lindsay Whitehurst, Fortune, 10 May 2024
With a fourth-inning touchdown, the Rockies sidestepped the sad narrative of their spring on Thursday afternoon at Coors Field.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 9 May 2024
This year, pro-cannabis lawmakers made a last-ditch effort to bring a restrictive medicinal marijuana pilot program to a debate and floor vote by using a procedural maneuver to sidestep Senate President Ty Masterson.
—Jenna Barackman, Kansas City Star, 9 May 2024
It’s bought networking switches and routers from eBay to sidestep waits as long as two years for new gear, a former employee says.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 3 May 2024
Trump has called for President Joe Biden to debate him, but Lake has sidestepped Lamb's calls.
—Lux Butler, The Arizona Republic, 3 May 2024
Giraldo sidestepped union representation at his trial and instead hired a private attorney.
—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 2 May 2024
Jack Fitzgerald, Car and Driver, 5 July 2023
The cabin also packs USB-A and USB-C charging ports and a wireless charger, and ingress and egress are improve thanks to wider side steps and a more vertical A-pillar.
—Caleb Miller, Car and Driver, 27 July 2023
Officials with the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen said Merck's lawsuit is an attempt to side step popular legislation.
—Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 6 June 2023
An available side step is there to make accessing the bed a bit easier.
—Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, 10 May 2023
There isn’t a common world of respect from one human to another that side steps gender – and for women, side steps age.
—Janelle Davis, CNN, 12 Mar. 2023
The Sierra now offers power-retractable side steps and an active exhaust system available on upper trims.
—Jack Fitzgerald, Car and Driver, 8 Apr. 2023
It should be noted that entire asset tokenization is one of the regulatory areas that demand attention in these early stages, where, for now, fractional ownership tokenization is managing to take a side step around that particular area of legislation.
—Johan Hajji, Forbes, 4 Aug. 2022
This side step might not work for everything, like video game apps, for which there is often no way to pay for stuff on a website.
—Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2022
Verb
This group has either sidestepped answering questions about their role as lawmakers who would be positioned to certify the next presidential winner, or have set conditions on doing so.
—Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY, 15 May 2024
During his annual kick-off press conference, festival boss Thierry Fremaux sidestepped the looming issues and tried to center the main attraction and the core mission of delivering world-class cinema.
—Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 May 2024
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that the majority sidestepped the important question: Whether Nealy’s claim was valid to begin with, or whether copyright holders should have to show some kind of fraud in order to sue over older violations.
—Lindsay Whitehurst, Fortune, 10 May 2024
With a fourth-inning touchdown, the Rockies sidestepped the sad narrative of their spring on Thursday afternoon at Coors Field.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 9 May 2024
This year, pro-cannabis lawmakers made a last-ditch effort to bring a restrictive medicinal marijuana pilot program to a debate and floor vote by using a procedural maneuver to sidestep Senate President Ty Masterson.
—Jenna Barackman, Kansas City Star, 9 May 2024
It’s bought networking switches and routers from eBay to sidestep waits as long as two years for new gear, a former employee says.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 3 May 2024
Trump has called for President Joe Biden to debate him, but Lake has sidestepped Lamb's calls.
—Lux Butler, The Arizona Republic, 3 May 2024
Giraldo sidestepped union representation at his trial and instead hired a private attorney.
—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 2 May 2024
Noun
Opting for the new trim includes new fender flares, lower door garnishes, side steps, and bed rails, as well as trim-specific orange center caps for the wheels.
—Jack Fitzgerald, Car and Driver, 5 July 2023
The cabin also packs USB-A and USB-C charging ports and a wireless charger, and ingress and egress are improve thanks to wider side steps and a more vertical A-pillar.
—Caleb Miller, Car and Driver, 27 July 2023
Officials with the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen said Merck's lawsuit is an attempt to side step popular legislation.
—Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 6 June 2023
An available side step is there to make accessing the bed a bit easier.
—Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, 10 May 2023
There isn’t a common world of respect from one human to another that side steps gender – and for women, side steps age.
—Janelle Davis, CNN, 12 Mar. 2023
The Sierra now offers power-retractable side steps and an active exhaust system available on upper trims.
—Jack Fitzgerald, Car and Driver, 8 Apr. 2023
It should be noted that entire asset tokenization is one of the regulatory areas that demand attention in these early stages, where, for now, fractional ownership tokenization is managing to take a side step around that particular area of legislation.
—Johan Hajji, Forbes, 4 Aug. 2022
This side step might not work for everything, like video game apps, for which there is often no way to pay for stuff on a website.
—Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sidestep.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sidestep
Cite this Entry
“Sidestep.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sidestep. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sidestep
verb
side·step
-ˌstep
1
: to take a step to the side
2
: to avoid by a step to the side
sidestep a blow
3
: to avoid answering or dealing with
sidestep a question
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