half-step

verb

To back down from; fail to follow through or complete; to be slack

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Meanings

half-step1

nounhalf-step (plural half-steps)

plural half-steps

  1. alternativeAlternative form of half step.

half-step2

verbhalf-step (third-person singular simple present half-steps, present participle half-stepping, simple past and past participle half-stepped)

present singular third person half-steps · participle present half-stepping · participle past half-stepped · past half-stepped

  1. slangAfrican-American VernacularTo back down from; fail to follow through or complete; to be slack
  2. slangAfrican-American VernacularTo fail to display full commitment, preparation, or genuineness; to be a poser; to be a fake or fraud

    No half-steppin', either you want it or you just playin' / I'm listenin' to you knowin' I can't believe what you sayin'

    2014 April 28, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea, “Problem”, in My Everything, performed by Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea, track 2

Origin

From half- + step.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

half-step. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/half-step

MLA

“half-step.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/half-step. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “half-step,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/half-step.

Source: half-step on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.