two-step

plural two-steps

1. danceA ballroom dance in duple time, having long, sliding steps.

   The dancing shadows on the wall / (The two-step in the hall)

   1977, Jeff Lynne, “Turn to Stone”, performed by Electric Light Orchestra

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   Square dances were the feature of the evening, but waltzes, two-steps, and a Dan Tucker were also very popular.

   1914, Lisgar Collegiate Institute, Vox Lycei Spring 1914, page 31

2. danceA dance move consisting of two steps in approximately the same direction onto the same foot, separated by a joining or uniting step with the other foot.
3. entertainmentA piece of music for this dance.

1. not comparableUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see two, step.

   Films corrupted by blotches are often restored in a two-step approach.

   2000, A. Hanjalic, G.C. Langelaar, P.M.B. van Roosmalen, Image and Video Databases: Restoration, Watermarking and Retrieval, →ISBN, page 14

   2 more examples

   The data lake, in turn, supports a two-step process to analyze the data.

   2014, Pethuru Raj, Ganesh Chandra Deka, editors, Handbook of Research on Cloud Infrastructures for Big Data Analytics, IGI Global, page 105

   A two-step procedure was performed to induce chronic renal disease (CRD): left heminephrectomy at 20 weeks of age followed by right total nephrectomy 1 week later.

   2015 September 15, “Pitavastatin Reduces Inflammation in Atherosclerotic Plaques in Apolipoprotein E-Deficient Mice with Late Stage Renal Disease”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI

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

1. intransitiveTo dance the two-step.
2. figurativelyTo move around as if dancing a two-step.

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   2024, Paul Salopek, New Map: Ancient Roads of China, National Geographichttps://outofedenwalk.nationalgeographic.org/articles/2024-07-new-map-ancient-roads-china Pacing off on average 25 kilometers a day, month after month, we two-stepped around roaring superhighways, under bullet-train bridges, through megacities of 22 million that took a week to traverse, as well as past dams, mines, airports, and industrial parks—a buzzing tableau you’d expect from China’s reputation as the “factory of the world.”