step aside

verb

To move out of the way of somebody or something.

“I stepped aside to let her pass.”

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Meanings

verbstep aside (third-person singular simple present steps aside, present participle stepping aside, simple past and past participle stepped aside)

present singular third person steps aside · participle present stepping aside · participle past stepped aside · past stepped aside

  1. intransitiveTo move out of the way of somebody or something.

    I stepped aside to let her pass.

  2. figurativelyintransitiveTo make room for others as replacements by withdrawing from a position or service.

    She added: “Today I ask Donald Trump to step aside and for the RNC to replace him with Gov. Mike Pence.”

    2016 October 8, Katie Glueck, quoting Carly Fiorina, “Top Republican women pull support from Trump”, in Politico
  3. intransitiveTo deviate from the right or proper path; to err or stray.

    To step aside is human.

    18th c., Robert Burns, Address to the Unco Guid, or The Rigidly Righteous
  4. intransitiveTo walk to a little distance; retire for the occasion.
Cite this entry
APA

step aside. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/step%20aside

MLA

“step aside.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/step%20aside. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “step aside,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/step%20aside.

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