out of step

prepositional phrase

Not matching the movement of one's feet with that of others, or with an accompanying beat, while marching or walking.

“The government is increasingly out of step with public opinion.”

Similar
out of tune
Opposite
in step
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Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. Not matching the movement of one's feet with that of others, or with an accompanying beat, while marching or walking.

    At the march-past, little Johnny was out of step with everyone else.

    1 more example

    The soldiers […] marched out of step in spite of the drum-beat, […]

    1940, Graham Greene, The Power and the Glory, Penguin, published 1977, Part 1, Chapter 4, pp. 51-52
  2. figurativelyNot matching or in agreement (with someone or something).

    The government is increasingly out of step with public opinion.

    4 more examples

    If, now and then, during their travels, they had fallen slightly out of step, harmony had been restored by their return to the conditions she was used to.

    1920, Edith Wharton, chapter 21, in The Age of Innocence, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, book II, pages 207–208

    What disturbed him was the discovery that in sensibly ordering his affairs he had got out of step, and not into step, with life.

    1930, Dashiell Hammet, chapter 7, in The Maltese Falcon, New York, N.Y.; London: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →OCLC, pages 77–78

    Industry experts are concerned that if the railway doesn't change tack, it would soon find itself out of step with the needs of the nation and in the crosshairs of a Treasury looking to slash spending.

    2021 October 20, Ben Jones, “The benefits of (and barriers to) more leisure travel by rail”, in RAIL, number 942, page 32

    The US president won rave reviews in Kyiv and Warsaw. But his old, cold war mindset is out of step with a changing world[.]

    2023 February 26, Simon Tisdall, “Outdated and out of time: Biden’s crusade for global democracy is doomed to fail”, in The Observer, →ISSN

    Synonyms: out of tune

Synonyms & antonyms

prepositional phraseNot matching or in agreement (with someone or something).

Similar
out of tune
Opposite
in step
Also see
out of tune

Translations

Finnish epätahdissa, eronnut
  • epätahdissanot matching the movement of one’s feet with that of others, or with an accompanying beat, while marching or walking
  • eronnutnot matching or in agreement
  • omaperäinennot matching or in agreement
French en décalage, en décalage
  • en décalagenot matching the movement of one’s feet with that of others, or with an accompanying beat, while marching or walking
  • en décalagenot matching or in agreement
Polish nie w takt, inaczej niż inni
  • nie w taktnot matching the movement of one’s feet with that of others, or with an accompanying beat, while marching or walking
  • inaczej niż inninot matching or in agreement
Spanish desfasado
  • desfasadonot matching the movement of one’s feet with that of others, or with an accompanying beat, while marching or walking
Swedish i otakt, i otakt
  • i otaktnot matching the movement of one’s feet with that of others, or with an accompanying beat, while marching or walking
  • i otaktnot matching or in agreement
  • ur fasnot matching or in agreement
Cite this entry
APA

out of step. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/out%20of%20step

MLA

“out of step.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/out%20of%20step. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “out of step,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/out%20of%20step.

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