Word.ws English Dictionary

taken a step back

taken a step back is the past participle of take a step back.

Meaning of take a step back

Verb

take a step back (third-person singular simple present takes a step back, present participle taking a step back, simple past took a step back, past participle taken a step back)

  1. (figuratively) To withdraw temporarily from a situation in order to evaluate it; to cease one's course of action and take a moment to reflect on it; to try and gain some perspective.
    • By establishing GBR, the Department for Transport intends to "take a step back" from the day-to-day running of the railways, which will be music to the ears of many.2025 March 5, Richard Wilcock, “DfT sets out its plans with rail reform consultation”, in RAIL, number 1030, page 28

Questions about taken a step back

What is taken a step back the past participle of?
Taken a step back is the past participle of take a step back.

Words near taken a step back in the dictionary

  1. taken a shit
  2. taken a shot in the dark
  3. taken a sight
  4. taken a stab at
  5. taken a stand
  6. taken a step back
  7. taken a tinkle
  8. taken a toll
  9. taken a tumble
  10. taken a turn
  11. taken a turn for the better

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: taken a step back (page history and authors); take a step back (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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Cite this entry: “taken a step back.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/taken_a_step_back. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.