How to use sidestep in a sentence

12 example sentences · noun, verb

Sidestep means a step to the side. Example: “They sidestepped the issue.”

Examples of sidestep by meaning

verbTo step to the side.

Kilmarnock ought to have taken the lead on the stroke of half-time when Hefferman set up Kroca and, although the defender neatly sidestepped his marker, he fired straight into the chest of Enckelman.2011 October 1, Clive Lindsay, “Kilmarnock 1 - 2 St Johnstone”, in BBC Sport

verbTo avoid or dodge.

They sidestepped the issue.
It was noticeable that he sidestepped questions about continuation south of Crewe, on the grounds that he must await the report of Sir Ivan Stedeford's Advisory Group.1960 November, “Talking of Trains: That engine change at Crewe”, in Trains Illustrated, page 641

More sentences with sidestep

“You could’ve just texted,” I point out, sidestepping her to unlock Miles’ car.2023, S. Massery, Secret Obsession, →ISBN. From the entry backup camera
Ohhh, a transparent sidestep and a shlurp all in one sentence.2000 February 16, Father H. J. O'Blivion, Dkr. KOF, “Knighthood in Cyberspace?”, in alt.culture.knights (Usenet), archived from the…. From the entry shlurp
In that game, Carlsen sidestepped the main line of the Berlin Defense with 4 d4, hoping to unsettle Karjakin.2012 July 15, Dylan Loeb Mcclain, “Chess: Fischer and Spassky, Looking Back”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 20 Jun…. From the entry main line
Then he played hard to get, knavishly sidestepping the microphone.2008 March 6, Nate Chinen, “A Night of ‘Warpaint,’ a New Set of Crowes”, in New York Times. From the entry knavishly
Attempts to sidestep this statutory rule have been unsuccessful.2003, Ralph De Wit, “The Concept of Statutory Rights of Action in Carriage of Goods”, in Eric Van Hooydonk, editor, English and…. From the entry stevedore
McCarthy discussed their attempts to sidestep the clichés of postpunk stardom while still making a record people could dance, and debauch themselves, to.2009 January 27, Melena Ryzik, “A Band Moves Away From the Style It Helped Make Mainstream”, in New York Times. From the entry hamachi
He was sidestepping carefully along a narrow portion of the ledge, looking down, when he saw another jetpacked troll flying up at them.2007, Bruce Golden, Better Than Chocolate, Austin, Tex.: Zumaya Otherworlds, →ISBN. From the entry jetpacked
The horse pounded surefooted along the tunnels, leaping sudden slides of rubble and adroitly sidestepping huge stones as they thundered down from the straining roof.1983, Terry Pratchett, The Colour of Magic, published 2022, page 140. From the entry adroitly
Turull, group elder, and Wright, the youngest, play off each other extraordinarily well, be it on cajon or when the latter jumps up to beatbox against Marina’s lyrical sidesteps.2005, Derek Beres, Global Beat Fusion: The History of the Future of Music, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 102. From the entry beatbox

Meaning of sidestep

noun A step to the side.
noun A physical motion or metaphorical act to avoid or dodge something.
verb To step to the side.

Full definition of sidestep

Questions about sidestep in a sentence

How do you use sidestep in a sentence?: Sidestep is used as a noun and verb. For example: “They sidestepped the issue.”
What is a short sentence with sidestep?: “They sidestepped the issue.”
What does sidestep mean?: Sidestep means a step to the side.

Adapted from Wiktionary: sidestep (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use sidestep in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/sidestep. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.