overstep

B2 Topic:Verbs of Movement

US /ˌoʊvɚˈstɛp/ UK /ˌəʊvəˈstɛp/ See IPA manual

verb noun Freq #35793

Meanings

1

verb
To go beyond what is allowed or acceptable.

The manager overstepped his authority by firing the staff without permission.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to go beyond what is... transgress trespass

Word family

Forms oversteppedoversteppingoversteps

Derived forms overstepper

Etymology

From Middle English *oversteppen, from Old English ofersteppan, from Proto-Germanic *uberstapjaną (“to step over; overstep”), equivalent to over- + step. Cognate with Dutch overstappen, German Low German överstappen, German überstapfen, überstepfen.

*oversteppen Middle English ofersteppan Old English *uberstapjaną Proto-Germanic

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Topics

Verbs of Movement

# overstep

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** ˌoʊvɚˈstɛp
**IPA (UK):** ˌəʊvəˈstɛp
**Frequency rank:** 35793

## Meanings
1. To go beyond what is allowed or acceptable.

## Examples
- The manager overstepped his authority by firing the staff without permission.

## Derived Forms
- overstepper

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *oversteppen
- Root: ofersteppan
- Root: *uberstapjaną

## Etymology
From Middle English *oversteppen, from Old English ofersteppan, from Proto-Germanic *uberstapjaną (“to step over; overstep”), equivalent to over- + step. Cognate with Dutch overstappen, German Low German överstappen, German überstapfen, überstepfen.

## AI Etymology
Overstep comes from Middle English *oversteppen, from Old English ofersteppan, from Proto-Germanic *uberstapjaną (“to step over; overstep”), equivalent to over- + step. Cognate with Dutch overstappen, German Low German överstappen, German überstapfen, überstepfen. Modern senses include to go beyond what is allowed or acceptable. The wider word family includes derivatives such as overstepper.

## Topics
- Verbs of Movement

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overstep

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