STEP IN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does step in mean? 

• STEP IN (verb)
  The verb STEP IN has 2 senses:

1. get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force

2. act as a substitute

  Familiarity information: STEP IN used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STEP IN (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

interfere; interpose; intervene; step in

Context example:

Why did the U.S. not intervene earlier in WW II?

Hypernyms (to "step in" is one way to...):

interact (act together or towards others or with others)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "step in"):

meddle; tamper (intrude in other people's affairs or business; interfere unwantedly)

interlope (encroach on the rights of others, as in trading without a proper license)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Act as a substitute

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

deputise; deputize; step in; substitute

Context example:

She stood in for the soprano who suffered from a cold

Hypernyms (to "step in" is one way to...):

replace; supersede; supervene upon; supplant (take the place or move into the position of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "step in"):

cover (help out by taking someone's place and temporarily assuming his responsibilities)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

 Context examples 

The discovery is an important step in better understanding the early-life stages of this commercially valuable fish, the authors said.

(North Atlantic haddock use magnetic compass to guide them, National Science Foundation)

Diethyldithiocarbamate chelates zinc, thereby inhibiting metalloproteinases, thereby preventing the degradation of the extracellular matrix and inhibiting an initial step in cancer metastasis and angiogenesis.

(Ditiocarb, NCI Thesaurus)

Another proteolytic step in Notch processing is carried out by TACE, also known as ADAM17.

(Notch Proteolysis and Signaling Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

The final step in the processing of a business transaction during which a business process is done.

(Commit Operation, NCI Thesaurus)

This includes events that occur as a step in the induction of death.

(CDISC SEND Method of Termination Terminology, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

The next step in the new study was to determine if FLP-7 was directly linked to serotonin levels in the brain.

(Scientists Find Brain Hormone That Triggers Fat Burning, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Inactivation of tumor suppressor BCDS2 Protein, encoded by Breast Cancer, Ductal 2 Gene, may represent a fundamental step in the pathogenesis of ductal carcinoma of the breast.

(Breast Cancer Suppressor-2, NCI Thesaurus)

The first step in the pathway is catalyzed by a cytochrome P450 mixed function oxidase and requires both oxygen and NADPH.

(Omega-Oxidation of Fatty Acids Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Just have the kindness to step in here.

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

This is the first committed step in the biosynthesis of phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate.

(Phosphatidylinositol 3 Kinase, NCI Thesaurus/LocusLink)