step out

verb

stepped out; stepping out; steps out

intransitive verb

1

: to go away from a place usually for a short distance and for a short time

2

: to go or march at a vigorous or increased pace

3

: die

4

: to lead an active social life

5

: to be unfaithful

—usually used with on

had been stepping out on his wife

Synonyms of step out

• cheat
• screw around
• play (around)

Examples of step out in a Sentence

if she catches him stepping out on her, she'll divorce him without a moment's hesitation

my greedy relatives are only being nice to me because they expect me to step out any time now

Recent Examples on the Web

But there wasn’t anything quite like the experience of stepping out in front of the roaring crowd. — Liana Handler, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026

Morgan agreed to step out of his sedan, stood in front of a patrol vehicle and allowed officers to pat him down, the recordings showed. — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 19 July 2026

Rex Heuermann stepped out of his Midtown office, turned left onto Fifth Avenue, and walked straight into our trap. — Rodney K. Harrison, New York Daily News, 19 July 2026

Ava Max steps out in the New York City neighborhood of East Village on July 17, in a quirky look of an oversized hat an frilly shirt. — People Staff, PEOPLE, 18 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1533, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for step out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

Kids Definition

step out

verb

: to go away from a place usually for a short distance and for a short time