footstep

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈfʊtstɛp/ UK /ˈfʊtstɛp/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the sound or mark of a foot taking a step

She heard a footstep on the stair and froze, listening.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the sound or mark of a foot... step tread footfall pace stride footprint

Word family

Related forms foot step footstool

Appears in

Idioms (1)

See all

follow in someone's footsteps
to copy another person's actions or pursue a similar path, especially in work or achievement

Etymology

A compound of foot (Old English fot) and step (Old English stæpe), denoting the tread or impression made by a foot in stepping. Both elements are native Germanic.

fot Middle English stæpe Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# footstep

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈfʊtstɛp/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfʊtstɛp/

## Meanings
1. the sound or mark of a foot taking a step

## Examples
- She heard a footstep on the stair and froze, listening.

## Synonyms
- step
- tread
- footfall
- pace
- stride
- footprint

## Related Forms
- foot
- step
- footstool

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fot
- Root: stæpe

## Etymology
A compound of foot (Old English fot) and step (Old English stæpe), denoting the tread or impression made by a foot in stepping. Both elements are native Germanic.

## AI Etymology
Footstep is a compound of foot (Old English fot) and step (Old English stæpe), denoting the tread or impression made by a foot in stepping. Both elements are native Germanic. Morphologically, the form is compositional, with the named elements combining to produce the modern spelling and sense. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "the sound or mark of a foot taking a step", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes related forms such as foot, step, and footstool, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Old English fot and Old English stæpe, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood includes step, tread, footfall, and pace, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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