as in bypassing
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1
as in circumventing
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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Recent Examples of sidestepping
Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2026
Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Mar. 2026
The signatories also questioned the classification of the bill as an organic law, warning it could be used to give the legislation higher legal standing while sidestepping other environmental and human rights protections.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2026
Live Nation’s outside lobbyists were working directly with DOJ leadership to strike a deal, as Semafor scooped, sidestepping the antitrust unit and its former chief, Gail Slater.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Von der Leyen is basically sidestepping for now those lawmakers — an unusual move for the European executive and one likely to prompt criticism.
—ABC News, 27 Feb. 2026
Mindfulness becomes a way of sidestepping the world’s pain rather than engaging with it.
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026
Thompson, the top Democrat on the committee, also criticized Lyons for sidestepping earlier invitations to testify before lawmakers.
—Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
OpenAI has made a smart strategic move by sidestepping the interoperability nightmare and going directly to consumers, who are legally entitled to access their own health data under regulations such as the 21st Century Cures Act.
—Sahar Hashmi, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
Critics of the practice have long said the deals were a means of sidestepping antitrust scrutiny, since there is technically no acquisition for regulators to review.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 17 Jan. 2026
Noun
One was the very clear sidestepping of Palestinian sovereignty, and the second was the issue of Iran.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2026
Verb
Dylan, who won the Nobel Prize in literature in 2016 and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, has spent much of his later career sidestepping the expectations that come with legacy status.
—Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Mar. 2026
The signatories also questioned the classification of the bill as an organic law, warning it could be used to give the legislation higher legal standing while sidestepping other environmental and human rights protections.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2026
Live Nation’s outside lobbyists were working directly with DOJ leadership to strike a deal, as Semafor scooped, sidestepping the antitrust unit and its former chief, Gail Slater.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Von der Leyen is basically sidestepping for now those lawmakers — an unusual move for the European executive and one likely to prompt criticism.
—ABC News, 27 Feb. 2026
Mindfulness becomes a way of sidestepping the world’s pain rather than engaging with it.
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026
Thompson, the top Democrat on the committee, also criticized Lyons for sidestepping earlier invitations to testify before lawmakers.
—Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
OpenAI has made a smart strategic move by sidestepping the interoperability nightmare and going directly to consumers, who are legally entitled to access their own health data under regulations such as the 21st Century Cures Act.
—Sahar Hashmi, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
Critics of the practice have long said the deals were a means of sidestepping antitrust scrutiny, since there is technically no acquisition for regulators to review.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 17 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sidestepping
Noun
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Assistive listening studies report that bypassing room acoustics and delivering audio directly can improve signal‑to‑noise ratios by 15–20 dB, making announcements comprehensible and lectures clearer [8].—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
26 Feb. 2026
-
The facility, intended as the largest addition to the White House since the Oval Office, has sparked debate among historians, preservationists, commentators, and the public due to its demolition of the historic East Wing and the bypassing of standard preservation reviews.—
Associate News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Trump has remained open in his positioning toward Moscow, even declining on Sunday to blast it for circumventing his oil blockade on Cuba.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Mar. 2026
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The Houthi attack comes just as Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline is now pumping oil at its full capacity of 7 million barrels a day, sending crude to the Red Sea port of Yanbu and circumventing the Strait of Hormuz.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Ring surveillance video from the night of the shooting showed people ducking for cover on the 1500 block of South Etting Street as gunshots were fired.—
Tom Ignudo,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
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Investors ducking for cover in the rocky market are turning to low volatility funds.—
Michelle Fox,
CNBC,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That’s evidenced by the GOP’s skirting of the issue.—
CNN.com,
Mercury News,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The Dominator 3, at its base a Ford F-350, features an armored shell and skirting designed to keep winds from lifting the vehicle; strong windows, equipment for tracking weather data and a hydraulic spike system used to anchor the vehicle to the ground.—
Nathan Pilling,
Kansas City Star,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Whatever his flaws, the president has been politically astute throughout his tenure, carefully avoiding the trap of letting the perfect be the enemy of good.—
Kelly Sloan,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 Apr. 2026
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Be wary of phishing by avoiding links in unsolicited emails or texts.—
Larry Magid,
Mercury News,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The poem tells the story of the seduction of a sixteen-year-old girl by the watermonster, a mythical figure, weaving together themes of place, identity, trauma, and transformation.—
Patrick Dundon,
JSTOR Daily,
9 Apr. 2026
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The mopeds and similar modes of transportation have become notorious in Boston, often weaving through traffic and lining up outside of popular takeout spots.—
Matt Schooley,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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For one evening, the talk wasn’t of tanking, or alleged cap circumvention, or NBA employees’ troubling — and, to be fair, still only alleged — gambling connections.—
David Aldridge,
New York Times,
7 Mar. 2026
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Clippers investigation Silver said he has been told that the Los Angeles Clippers have been cooperative with the external investigation into their possible circumvention of the salary cap through a suspicious endorsement deal for Kawhi Leonard with a now-bankrupt company.—
Greg Beacham,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The attack targets Russia’s shadow fleet evading international sanctions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and its ongoing oil export revenues.—
Samy Magdy,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2026
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The records also show Renfro is facing several other charges from previous cases, including assault causing bodily injury, assault causing bodily injury-family violence, evading arrest or detention, and continuous violence against the family.—
Doug Myers,
CBS News,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sidestepping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sidestepping. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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