Word.ws English Dictionary

downstep

downstep noun: a downward shift of tone between the syllables or words of a tonal language.

Noun

downstep (plural downsteps)

  1. A downward shift of tone between the syllables or words of a tonal language.

Verb

downstep (third-person singular simple present downsteps, present participle downstepping, simple past and past participle downstepped)

  1. To apply a downward shift of tone between the syllables or words of a tonal language.

Forms of downstep

Noun
pluraldownsteps
Verb
third-person singular presentdownsteps
present participledownstepping
past participledownstepped
pastdownstepped

Origin of downstep

From down- + step.

Questions about downstep

What does downstep mean?
Downstep means a downward shift of tone between the syllables or words of a tonal language.
What part of speech is downstep?
Downstep can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of downstep?
The plural of downstep is downsteps.

Words near downstep in the dictionary

  1. downstater
  2. downstaters
  3. downstates
  4. downstats
  5. downsteepy
  6. downstep
  7. downstepped
  8. downstepping
  9. downsteps
  10. downstream
  11. downstreamed

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: downstep (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “downstep.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/downstep. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.