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
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
Kristian has no trouble sidestepping the criticism.
—Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026
Demanding compliance from partners while sidestepping obligations at home weakens credibility.
—Diego Marroquin Bitar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
For this reason, sidestepping Machado, came as a shock to many.
—Javier Corrales, Time, 5 Jan. 2026
Verb
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
Kristian has no trouble sidestepping the criticism.
—Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026
Demanding compliance from partners while sidestepping obligations at home weakens credibility.
—Diego Marroquin Bitar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
For this reason, sidestepping Machado, came as a shock to many.
—Javier Corrales, Time, 5 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sidestepping
Noun
-
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
-
Trump and Vance are now apparently circumventing that existing structure not for public safety, but for politics and power.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
-
The couple also allegedly photographed hundreds of computer screens containing confidential information from Google and Company 2, in what appeared to be an attempt at circumventing digital monitoring tools.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Post videos of catching them ducking in Statehouse hallways.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
5 Mar. 2026
-
On an episode of Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out podcast from 2024, Birbiglia listens to Fleming tell a story about his childhood habit of perpetually running away from his mother, sprinting off into a rainstorm rather than pragmatically ducking into her car.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
And is there something to gain—politically, economically, or diplomatically—by avoiding conflict?—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
12 Mar. 2026
-
While many bulk carriers have strong links with China in terms of ownership, operation and cargo, the actual effectiveness of declaring themselves as China-linked in avoiding attacks is unclear, said Rico Luman, a senior economist at the Dutch bank ING who focuses on transport and logistics.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The story, at a distance, features the utmost potential for emotional intensity, but the closer the filmmakers get to weaving an overarching tapestry, the more the individual stories run together in terms of tone and spirit.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2026
-
The jazz polymath wrote, played, produced, and mixed everything on his new solo album, weaving overlapping loops and knotty counterpoints into a dynamic suite of interconnected pieces.—
Mark Richardson,
Pitchfork,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
Biden said partnerships were evading $100 billion in taxes.—
Julie Z. Weil,
Washington Post,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Armond Langford, 32, is facing multiple charges including robbery, kidnapping, assault, wanton endangerment, fleeing/evading police, burglary and persistent felony offender.—
Caroline Neal,
Louisville Courier Journal,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sidestepping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sidestepping. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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