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
Relevance
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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Eleven of 19 batters struck out against Glasnow and hard-throwing Milwaukee rookie Jacob Misiorowski in the third, fourth and fifth innings with just one baserunner (on a walk), leaving the game locked in a 1-1 tie until the Dodgers put something together in the sixth.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
17 Oct. 2025 -
And then the project fell apart, leaving Shackleton with fragments of the unfinished film and time to ruminate on shortcuts and signifiers of the ubiquitous genre.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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David Ryder | Bloomberg | Getty Images A Microsoft engineer is resigning after 13 years at the software giant, claiming the company continues to sell cloud services to the Israeli military and that executives won’t discuss the war in Gaza.—
Jordan Novet,
CNBC,
10 Oct. 2025
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That figure, already the highest on record, is expected to be eclipsed in 2025 as the focus on CEO accountability intensifies, with 25 CEOs resigning year to date after coming under activist pressure, with 20% of the departures occurring at S&P 500 companies.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The risks associated with relinquishing control over my mobility also give me pause.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
14 Oct. 2025
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Liberation lies in relinquishing projection, in surrendering the desire for children to mirror our priorities and accomplishments.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In June, the King spoke about the possibility of abdicating to make way for his daughter.—
Stephanie Petit,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
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This isn't about abdicating responsibility.—
Julian Hayes II,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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To lower the risk of heart disease, practice heart healthy behaviors like getting enough quality sleep, eating a nutritious diet and quitting smoking.—
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
17 Oct. 2025
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Now Danny Rohl — unattached after quitting Sheffield Wednesday — has dropped out of contention too.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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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 19 Oct. 2025.
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