overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

overstep.

To go too far beyond (a limit); especially, to cross boundaries or exceed norms or conventions.

8 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˌəʊvəˈstɛp/Received-Pronunciation/ˌoʊvɚˈstɛp/US
  1. To go too far beyond (a limit); especially, to cross boundaries or exceed norms or conventions.

    transitive
    That color scheme really oversteps the bounds of good taste.
  2. To take a step in which the foot touches ground too far forward.

  3. To move with a gait such that the hind foot touches the ground forward of the point where the front foot touches the ground.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English *oversteppen, from Old English ofersteppan, from Proto-Germanic *uberstapjaną (“to step over; overstep”). Cognate with Dutch overstappen, German Low German överstappen, German überstapfen, überstepfen. Cf. transgress. By surface analysis, over- + step.

noun/ˌəʊvəˈstɛp/Received-Pronunciation/ˌoʊvɚˈstɛp/US
  1. A gait in which the hind foot touches ground in front of where the front foot touches the ground.

    uncountable
  2. A movement in which one oversteps.

    uncountable
  3. A decision or action that goes too far.

    uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English *oversteppen, from Old English ofersteppan, from Proto-Germanic *uberstapjaną (“to step over; overstep”). Cognate with Dutch overstappen, German Low German överstappen, German überstapfen, überstepfen. Cf. transgress. By surface analysis, over- + step.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.