1
as in to circumvent
to avoid having to comply with (something) especially through cleverness
the eager enlistee sidestepped the regulations by lying about his age
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sidestep
The policy is already expected to draw a court challenge questioning the constitutionality of sidestepping judges.
—
Patricia Lopez, Mercury News, 30 July 2025
Aamir Khan is making waves in the Indian film distribution landscape with an unprecedented move that sidesteps traditional streaming platforms entirely.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 29 July 2025
Kim Kyung-hoon | Reuters Trump’s tariff deal offers scant relief for Japan automakers as bigger threat looms
Japanese automakers may have sidestepped crushing U.S. tariffs, but the reprieve may offer little comfort.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 28 July 2025
The show largely sidesteps politics to aim at easier targets, such as the boredom of retirement and the alienating effects of technology.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sidestep
Patricia Lopez, Mercury News, 30 July 2025
Aamir Khan is making waves in the Indian film distribution landscape with an unprecedented move that sidesteps traditional streaming platforms entirely.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 29 July 2025
Kim Kyung-hoon | Reuters Trump’s tariff deal offers scant relief for Japan automakers as bigger threat looms
Japanese automakers may have sidestepped crushing U.S. tariffs, but the reprieve may offer little comfort.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 28 July 2025
The show largely sidesteps politics to aim at easier targets, such as the boredom of retirement and the alienating effects of technology.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sidestep
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sidestep
Verb
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Apple’s careful wording makes clear that the changes to the way the metric is now gathered is key to how the Masimo dispute has been circumvented.—
David Phelan,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Jorge Silva | Reuters Russia, meanwhile, has reasonably effectively circumvented international sanctions and has buyers of its oil that funds its war machine, with the likes of China and India refusing to isolate their ally.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The last time might have been in a regional nightclub in the mid aughts, or weaving through a busy high street.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
16 Aug. 2025
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Now, with just a few months’ notice, staff are dismantling a 30-year program carefully woven into the city’s social safety net.—
Kate Armanini,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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That ambiguity reflects a desire to maintain strategic flexibility and avoid premature entanglement in a potential war.—
Frank Lavin,
Forbes.com,
17 Aug. 2025
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But typically, the Russian leader – a former intelligence officer with the Soviet Union’s security service, the KGB – uses translators to avoid speaking in English during diplomatic conversations.—
Katharina Krebs,
CNN Money,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Luckily, Tanner and his fellow chasers had already ducked down into their seats.—
Jim Clash,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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Her ability to duck in and overpower her defender was the advantage Seattle couldn’t overcome.—
Sabreena Merchant,
New York Times,
2 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Scammers distribute invitations to food truck owners through Gmail accounts, often using multiple email addresses to evade scam blocking filters.—
Tamia Fowlkes,
jsonline.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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The other, finished in Sebring Orange, was able to evade authorities briefly but was eventually located three hours away in Martin County, Indiana.—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
12 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Agents work best with standardized checkouts instead of needing to dodge botblockers and captchas while filling out forms via screenscraping.—
Craig DeWitt,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
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Meantime Heat traded rehabbing Haywood Highsmith to Brooklyn in a minor-deal pick swap that allows team to dodge the luxury tax and create a second roster opening.—
Greg Cote
August 17,
Miami Herald,
17 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The federal government stopped recommending covid shots for healthy pregnant women and children, bypassing input from a vaccine advisory committee that traditionally would have weighed in.—
Stephanie Armour,
CNN Money,
18 Aug. 2025
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For example, the researchers reported easily bypassing a bus’s onboard router authentication and accessing the systems that govern everything from collision detection to passenger monitoring.—
Alan Henry,
PC Magazine,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sidestep.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sidestep. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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