Word.ws English Dictionary

step into the breach

step into the breach verb: to do a task that one is not ordinarily expected to do because there is no one else to do it.

Verb

step into the breach (third-person singular simple present steps into the breach, present participle stepping into the breach, simple past and past participle stepped into the breach)

  1. (figuratively) To do a task that one is not ordinarily expected to do because there is no one else to do it.
    Synonyms:
    leap into the breach, jump into the breach

Synonyms of step into the breach

  • leap into the breach
  • jump into the breach

Forms of step into the breach

third-person singular presentsteps into the breach
present participlestepping into the breach
past participlestepped into the breach
paststepped into the breach

Questions about step into the breach

What does step into the breach mean?
Step into the breach means to do a task that one is not ordinarily expected to do because there is no one else to do it.
What part of speech is step into the breach?
Step into the breach is a verb.
What is the past tense of step into the breach?
The past tense of step into the breach is stepped into the breach.

Words near step into the breach in the dictionary

  1. step grates
  2. step in
  3. step in it
  4. step into
  5. step into someone's shoes
  6. step into the breach
  7. step it
  8. step ladder
  9. step ladders
  10. step lively
  11. step machine

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: step into the breach (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.

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