Meanings
plural baby steps
- idiomaticin pluralA small effort made towards the completion of a much larger task.
Learning a new language is difficult, so we'll learn by taking baby steps.
1 more example
“From a news operation standpoint, we’re going to start out with baby steps, but, eventually, this is going to be what you would expect it to be: a 24-hour operating network that covers a sport soup to nuts.”
2023 March 8, Jonathan Tannenwald, “CBS is launching a 24/7 soccer channel online”, in The Philadelphia Inquirer
Origin
From the small, awkward movements of a young child learning to walk.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 小進步 /小进步
- 小進步 /小进步 (xiǎo jìnbù)small effort
Finnish vauvanaskel, pikku askel
- vauvanaskelsmall effort
- pikku askelsmall effort
German kleiner Schritt, Minischritt
- kleiner Schrittsmall effort
- Minischrittsmall effort
Polish mały kroczek
- mały kroczeksmall effort
Spanish paso pequeño, pequeño paso
- paso pequeñosmall effort
- pequeño pasosmall effort
- pasito infantilsmall effort
Cite this entry
baby step. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/baby%20step
“baby step.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/baby%20step. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “baby step,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/baby%20step.
Source: baby step on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.