FOOTSTEP

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does footstep mean? 

• FOOTSTEP (noun)
  The noun FOOTSTEP has 3 senses:

1. the sound of a step of someone walking

2. the act of taking a step in walking

3. the distance covered by a step

  Familiarity information: FOOTSTEP used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FOOTSTEP (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The sound of a step of someone walking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

footfall; footstep; step

Context example:

he heard footsteps on the porch

Hypernyms ("footstep" is a kind of...):

sound (the sudden occurrence of an audible event)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "footstep"):

tramp (a heavy footfall)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of taking a step in walking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("footstep" is a kind of...):

step (the act of changing location by raising the foot and setting it down)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The distance covered by a step

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

footstep; pace; step; stride

Context example:

he stepped off ten paces from the old tree and began to dig

Hypernyms ("footstep" is a kind of...):

indefinite quantity (an estimated quantity)

 Context examples 

On our way upstairs, I called her attention to the sudden disappearance of Mrs. Crupp's pitfalls, and also to the prints of recent footsteps.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Presently I heard the sound of footsteps along the passage; the door opened, and the wretch whom I dreaded appeared.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Stand clear, Watson! Not an unnecessary footstep!

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His footsteps were heard along the gravel path; in a moment he was in the passage, and in another he was before them.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Maud’s footsteps were very near as his hand fluttered for the last time and my throat was released.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Suddenly, to my horror, there was a distinct sound of footsteps moving softly in the next room.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We found nothing throughout except dust in extraordinary proportions, and all untouched save for my own footsteps when I had made my first visit.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

It was a terrible pause; and terrible to every ear were the corroborating sounds of opening doors and passing footsteps.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Mr. Utterson had been some minutes at his post, when he was aware of an odd light footstep drawing near.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

I heard it too—a shuffling footstep in the room above, and then a creak from the steps, and then another creak, and another.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)