bestep

B3E1S1T1E1P3

verb

To step on; step over, tread upon.

OriginMiddle English bisteppen ← Old English besteppan ← Proto-Germanic *bistapjaną →
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Meanings

verbbestep (third-person singular simple present besteps, present participle bestepping, simple past and past participle bestepped or (archaic) bestept)

present singular third person besteps · participle present bestepping · participle past bestepped · past bestepped · archaic participle past bestept · archaic past bestept

  1. transitiveTo step on; step over, tread upon.

    And also it is using non-necessary spiritual attentions, because we see the dog in the way and we say "excuse me," and we notify a piddle in the street and we are worried not to bestep it.

    1966, State University of New York College at Fredonia. Dept. of English-Speech, Drama and theatre
  2. intransitiveTo step; take steps; walk.

    One wintry day up drove the stage And out bestepped Miss Nancy Page, […]

    1919, Daniel Leavens Cady, Rhymes of Vermont rural life

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*bistapjaną“to enter”
  2. Old Englishbesteppan“to tread upon, step, go, enter”
  3. Middle Englishbisteppen
  4. Englishbestep

From Middle English bisteppen, from Old English besteppan (“to tread upon, step, go, enter”), from Proto-Germanic *bistapjaną (“to enter”), equivalent to be- + step. Cognate with Dutch bestappen.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bestep. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bestep

MLA

“bestep.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bestep. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bestep,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bestep.

Source: bestep on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.