Meanings
plural 13th steppers
- slangA more experienced member of a 12 step recovery program who targets newcomers for romantic or sexual relationships.
Guy told me that he was a “13th stepper” in AA for many years and had sex with over 200 women.
2016, Guy B Yeadon, “Archived copy”, in Guy B. Yeadon, MA Counseling Psychology, archived from the original on 10 Nov 20162 more examples
One of Boston AA’s stronger suggestions is that newcomers avoid all romantic relationships for at least a year. So somebody with some sober time predating and trying to seduce a newcomer is almost tantamount to rape, is the Boston consensus. Not that it isn’t done. But the ones that do it never have the kind of sobriety anybody else respects or wants for themselves. A 13th-Stepper is still running from the mirror himself.
1996, Wallace, David Foster, Infinite JestAmanda Rollins: You went undercover to an A. A. meeting?[…] Nick Amaro: Rollins, look. I went out with some of the other guys from the group. All right, they said Nate preys on women new to the program. They call him a "13th-stepper".
2013, “Rapist Anonymous”, in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Cite this entry
13th stepper. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/13th%20stepper
“13th stepper.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/13th%20stepper. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “13th stepper,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/13th%20stepper.
Source: 13th stepper on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.