1
as in leaving
to give up (a job or office)
with the advent of his 90th birthday, he could no longer resist calls for him to step down from chairmanship of the board
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in resigning
to give up (as a position of authority) formally
even in the face of a palace revolt, Queen Elizabeth I refused to step down from the throne
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stepping down (from)
Verb
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But unlike an initial version of the law that was made public in December, the county will levy no fines on retailers for failing to do so — instead leaving any decision about punishment to a local court.—
John Aguilar,
Denver Post,
25 Feb. 2026 -
Crowley’s lawsuit claims Bass and city leaders’ decisions worsened the LAFD’s response to the fire, saying the city historically failed to properly fund the LAFD, leaving the agency under-manned and backlogged in the maintenance of vehicles and other equipment.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The furore led to both Davie and the BBC’s head of news Deborah Turness resigning.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Farmington, a rural California town of 262 people in San Joaquin County, is facing a major fire department issue with their battalion chief recently resigning and the county launching an ad-hoc committee.—
Charlie Lapastora,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Payton relinquishing the duties deserves praise.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Riley was the head coach and team president for the Heat’s first NBA championship in 2006 before relinquishing those duties to Erik Spoelstra in 2008.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Democratic leaders have accused Congress of abdicating its constitutional role, and some members plan to boycott the address or attend in silent protest.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
23 Feb. 2026
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The United States, in other words, is not just abdicating its role in the current international system.—
ELIZABETH ECONOMY,
Foreign Affairs,
9 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Perry and Jungkeit both said that the call to repentance didn’t spell out any specific actions — although ICE agents quitting their jobs could be one possibility.—
Emilia Otte,
Hartford Courant,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Jackson employed the same strategy as Breadbasket, never quitting the strategy of action alongside conversation.—
Jacqueline Munis,
Fortune,
19 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Stepping down (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stepping%20down%20%28from%29. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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