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Definition: Steps |
StepsNoun1. A way of access consisting of a set of steps. 2. The course along which a person has walked or is walking in; "I followed in his steps"; "he retraced his steps". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "steps" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Dream Interpretation | To dream that you ascend steps, denotes that fair prospects will relieve former anxiety. To decend them, you may look for misfortune. To fall down them, you are threatened with unexpected failure in your affairs. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
"The scientific method" usually refers to either a series or a collection of processes that are considered characteristic of scientific investigation and of the acquisition of new scientific knowledge.
Philosophers, historians and sociologists have found many ways to describe the scientific process. Often when someone describes how they think science is done, they are describing how they think science may be best or most reliably done. As a result, discussions of scientific method are frequently partisan. Indeed, there are perhaps as many methods of doing science as there are methodologists.
Introduction
The enunciation of a scientific method by Roger Bacon in the thirteenth century described a repeating cycle of observation, hypothesis, experimentation and the need for independent verification. This view, itself inspired by an arab alchemical tradition not endorsed by christian ecclesiastical authority, led to Francis Bacon (in 1620 with the New Organon) laying down some methods for identifying causation between phenomena. With these articulations, unfounded speculation and analogical arguments began to be replaced by consistent and logical methods of investigation.It is common to speak as if a single approach of this type were how scientists operate literally and all the time. Most historians, philosophers and sociologists regard this perspective as naïve, and view the actual progress of science as more complicated and haphazard. The actual course of scientific progress is inseparable from the politics and culture of science; a single, formal process cannot suffice either to explain or prescribe scientific progress.
The question of how science operates is important well beyond the academic community. In the judicial system and in policy debates, for example, a study's deviation from accepted scientific practice is grounds to reject it as "junk science." Whether strictly formularizable or not, science represents a standard of proficiency and reliability, and this is due at least in part to the way scientists work.
The idealized scientific method
The essential elements of the scientific method are traditionally described as follows:
These activities do not describe all that scientists do. This simplified method is useful for teaching, since it describes the way in which scientists often think of themselves as acting.
- Observe: Observe or read about a phenomenon.
- Hypothesize: Wonder about your observations, and invent a hypothesis, a 'guess', which could explain the phenomenon or set of facts that you have observed.
- Test
- Predict: Use the logical consequences of your hypothesis to predict observations of new phenomena or results of new measurements.
- Experiment: Perform experiments to test the accuracy of these predictions.
- Conclude: Accept or refute hypothesis
- Evaluate: Search for other possible explanations of the result until you can show that your guess was indeed the explanation, with confidence.
- Formulate new hypothesis
This idealised process is often misinterpreted as applying to scientists individually rather than to the scientific enterprize as a whole. Science is a social activity, and one scientist's theory or proposal cannot become accepted unless it has been published, peer reviewed, criticised, and finally accepted by the scientific community.
Observation
The scientific method begins with observation. Observation often demands careful measurement. It also requires the establishment of operational definitions of measurements and other relevant concepts. Definitions are not scientific hypotheses; they are not "falsifiable"; they are always true or tautological. Definitions condense a number of ideas into a single word or phrase. That being said, an observer's definition could differ significantly from commonly understood concepts of a term, and still be correct. Such a definition, however, would carry greater risk of being misunderstood. These definitions are operational in that they may differ with the context of a hypothesis, and they may be refined when the hypothesis is refined.
For example, the term "day" is useful in ordinary life and its meaning may vary with the context. (Do we mean a 24 hour period or do we mean the time between sunrise and sunset?) We don't have to define it precisely to make use of it. In many sciences it is precisely 86,400 atomic seconds. In studying the motion of the Earth, we may use two distinct operational definitions: a solar day is the time between two successive observations of the sun at the same position in the sky; a sidereal day is the time between two successive observations a specific star sky at the same position. The length of these two kinds of day differs by about four minutes.
Slight differences between operational definitions are often important, as they are needed to make experiments precise enough to distinguish subtle underlying phenomena. An example of this lies in choosing the appropriate segmentation in the statistical analysis of data. Distinctions in operational definitions can also reflect important conceptual differences: for example, mass and weight are regarded as quite different concepts in science, but the distinction is often ignored in everyday life.
Hypothesis
To explain the observation, scientists use whatever they can (their own creativity (currently not well understood), ideas from other fields, or even systematic guessing, or any other methods available) to come up with possible explanations for the phenomenon under study.
In the twentieth century Karl Popper introduced the idea that a hypothesis must be falsifiable; that is, it must be capable of being demonstrated wrong. Paul Feyerabend argued against this position, providing examples of falsified scientific theories that nevertheless had a vital role in the progress of scientific understanding.
Of course, it is impossible for the scientist to be impartial, considering all known evidence, and not merely evidence which supports the hypothesis under development. But by submitting their theories for peer review, scientists can at least make it more likely that the hypotheses formed will be relevant and useful, or at least get others to agree with it.
In the extremely rare cases where no better grounds for discriminating between rival hypotheses can be found, the bias scientists almost always follow is the principle of Occam's Razor; one chooses the simplest explanation for all the available evidence.
Prediction
A hypothesis must make specific predictions; these predictions can be tested with concrete measurements to support or refute the hypothesis. For instance, Albert Einstein's General Relativity makes a few specific predictions about the structure of space-time, such as the prediction that light bends in a strong gravitational field, and the amount of bending depends in a precise way on the strength of the gravitational field. Observations made of a 1919 solar eclipse supported the hypothesis (ie, General Relativity) as against those of the other possible hypotheses which did not make such a prediction. (Later experiments confirmed this even further.)
Deductive reasoning is the way in which predictions are used to test a hypothesis.
Verification
Probably the most important aspect of scientific reasoning is verification: The results of one's experiments must be verified. Verification is the process of determining whether the hypothesis is in accord with empirical evidence, and whether it will continue to be in accord with a more generally expanded body of evidence.Ideally, the experiments performed should be fully described so that anyone can reproduce them, and many scientists should independently verify every hypothesis. Results which can be obtained from experiments performed by many are termed reproducible and are given much greater weight in evaluating hypotheses than non reproducible results.
Scientists must design their experiments carefully. For example, if the measurements are difficult to make, or subject to observer bias, one must be careful to avoid distorting the results by the experimenter's wishes. When experimenting on complex systems, one must be careful to isolate the effect being tested from other possible causes of the intended effect (this results in a controlled experiment). In testing a drug, for example, it is important to carefully test that the supposed effect of the drug is produced only by the drug itself, and not by the placebo effect or by random chance. Doctors do this with what is called a double-blind study: two groups of patients are compared, one of which receives the drug and one of which receives a placebo. No patient in either group knows whether or not they are getting the real drug; even the doctors or other personnel who interact with the patients don't know which patient is getting the drug under test and which is getting a fake drug (often sugar pills), so their knowledge can't influence the patients either.
Evaluation
Falsificationism argues that any hypothesis, no matter how respected or time-honoured, must be discarded once it is contradicted by new reliable evidence. This is of course an oversimplification, since individual scientists inevitable hold on to their pet theory long after contrary evidence has been found. This is not always a bad thing. Any theory can be made to correspond to the facts, simply by making a few adjustments – called ‘’auxiliary hypothesis’’ – so as to bring it into correspondence with the accepted observations. The choice of when to reject one theory and accept another is inevitably up to the individual scientist, rather than some methodical law.
Hence all scientific knowledge is always in a state of flux, for at any time new evidence could be present that contradicts long-held hypotheses. A classic example is the explanation of light. Isaac Newton's particle paradigm was overturned by the wave theory of light, which explained diffraction, and which was held to be incontrovertible for many decades.The wave paradigm, in turn was refuted by the discovery of the photoelectric effect. The currently held theory of light holds that photons (the 'particles' of light) are both waves and particles; experiments have been performed which demonstrate that light has both particle and wave properties.
The experiments that reject a hypothesis should be performed by many different scientists to guard against bias, mistake, misunderstanding, and fraud. Scientific journals use a process of peer review, in which scientists submit their results to a panel of fellow scientists (who may or may not know the identity of the writer) for evaluation. Scientists are rightly suspicious of results that do not go through this process; for example, the cold fusion experiments of Fleischmann and Pons were never peer reviewed -- they were announced directly to the press, before any other scientists had tried to reproduce the results or evaluate their efforts. They have not been reproduced elsewhere as yet; and the press announcement was regarded, by most nuclear physicists, as very likely wrong. Peer review may well have turned up problems and led to a closer examination of the experimental evidence Fleischmann, Pons, et al believed they had. Much embarrassment, and wasted effort worldwide, would have been avoided.
Departures from method
There are no definitive guidelines for the production of new hypotheses. The history of science is filled with stories of scientists describing a "flash of inspiration", or a hunch, which then motivated them to look for evidence to support or refute their idea. Michael Polanyi made such creativity the centrepiece of his methodology.
The anecdote that an apple falling on Isaac Newton's head inspired his theory of gravity is a popular example of this (there is no evidence that the apple fell on his head; all Newton said was that his ideas were inspired "by the fall of an apple.") Kekule's account of the inspiration for his hypothesis of the structure of the benzene-ring (dreaming of snakes biting their own tails) is better attested.
Scientists tend to look for theories that are "elegant" or "beautiful"; in contrast to the usual English use of these terms, scientists have a more specific meaning in mind. "Elegance" (or "beauty") refers to the ability of a theory to neatly explain all known facts as simply as possible, or in a manner consistent with Occam's Razor.
The Ptolemaic model of the universe suggested that the earth is the centre of a pristine, perfect universe, and all motions in such a universe must be circular. The model explained the apparent retrograde motion of the planets, by introducing epicycles. Nicolaus Copernicus' model placed the sun at the centre of planetary motion, but also assumed that the planets moved in perfect circles. It also found it necessary to make use of epicycles, and was as complex as, yet less accurate than the heliocentric model. Improvement in the accuracy of the model depended not only on developing the mathematics of elliptical orbits, but a conceptual change in the way in which motion was understood. Tycho Brahe made unprecedentedly accurate observations, but did not reject the geocentric model. It took Kepler 20 years to formulate equations which explained Tycho Brahe's observations in heliocentric terms.
Isaac Newton's System of the World unified Kepler's laws and Galileo's mechanical studies of acceleration, which re-integrated modern science into a comprehensible world model
Dogged adherence to method can be counterproductive.
History is replete with examples of accurate theories ignored by peers, and inaccurate ones propagated unduly.
Often it is the less accurate theory that eventually becomes accepted.
Annotated list of related issues
Empirical methodsParadigm change
- Empiricism
- Roger Bacon
- Francis Bacon
- Baconian method
- Empirical validation
The problem of induction questions the logical basis of scientific statements.
- Paradigm, perhaps the most abused word in English.
- Thomas Kuhn wrote influentially on the sociology of scientific revolutions in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is Kuhn's book.
- Paradigm shift.
Scientific creativity
- Inductive reasoning appears to lie at the core of scientific method, yet also appears to be invalid.
- David Hume was the person who first pointed out the problem of induction.
- Karl Popper offered one solution, Falsifiability
When Method goes wrong
- Michael Polanyi
- Tacit knowledge
Critique of Scientific Method
- Bad science
- Pseudoscience
- pathological science
- Paul Feyerabend argued that the search for a definitive scientific method was misplaced, and even counterproductive.
- Imre Lakatos attempted to bridge the gap between Popper and Kuhn.
- Scientism
See Also
Epistemology
- Bayesian logic -- Quasi-empirical methods -- Foundation ontology -- Ontology -- Philosophy of mathematics
Science policy -- Sociology of knowledge -- Science studies -- Conflicting theories
- Post-processualism is a methodological curiosity from Archaeology.
- Structuralism -- post-structuralism -- deconstruction-- post-modernism -- Latour, Bruno -- Scientism --
Collateral topics
Those interested in the scientific method can monitor changes to related pages by clicking on on Related changes in the sidebar.
External links
- An Introduction to Science: Scientific Thinking and the Scientific Method by Steven D. Schafersman.
- [1] Introduction to the Scientific Method
- The Myth of the Scientific Method by Dr. Terry Halwes
- Rational Reconstruction and Historical Reconstruction, Horus Publications
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Scientific method."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
STEPS | English | Solar Thermionic Electric Power System | Electrical Engineering |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: StepsSynonyms: staircase (n), stairs (n), stairway (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Action | Act, operate; take action, take steps; strike a blow, lift a finger, stretch forth one's hand; take in hand; (undertake); put oneself in motion; put in practice; carry into execution; (complete); act upon. |
Ascent | Noun: ascent, ascension; rising; acclivity, hill; flight of steps, flight of stairs; ladder |
Conduct | Deal with, have to do with; treat, handle a case; take steps, take measures. |
Direction | Steer for, steer towards, make for, make towards; aim at, level at; take aim; keep a course, hold a course; be bound for; bend one's steps towards; direct one's course, steer one's course, bend one's course, shape one's course; align one's march, allign one's march; to straight, go straight to the point; march on, march on a point. |
Imitation | Follow in the steps of, tread in the steps, follow in the footsteps of, follow in the wake of; take pattern by; follow suit, follow the example of; walk in the shoes of, take a leaf out of another's book, strike in with, follow suit; take after, model after; emulate. |
Journey | Peg on, jog on, wag on, shuffle on; stir one's stumps; bend one's steps, bend one's course; make one's way, find one's way, wend one's way, pick one's way, pick one's way, thread one's way, plow one's way; slide, glide, coast, skim, skate; march in procession, file on, defile. |
Method | Steps; stair, staircase; flight of stairs, ladder, stile; perron. |
Plan | Verb: plan,scheme, design, frame, contrive, project, forecast, sketch; devise, invent; (imagine); set one's wits to work; spring a project; fall upon, hit upon; strike out, chalk out, cut out, lay out, map out; lay down a plan; shape out a course, mark out a course; predetermine; concert, preconcert, preestablish; prepare; hatch, hatch a plot concoct; take steps, take measures. |
Preparation | Train; (teach); inure; (habituate); breed; prepare; for; rehearse; make provision for; take steps, take measures, take precautions; provide, provide against; beat up for recruits; open the door to; (facilitate). |
Pursuit | Tread a path; take a course, hold- a course; shape one's steps, direct one's steps, bend one's steps, course; play a game; fight one's way, elbow one's way; follow up; take to, take up; go in for; ride one's hobby. |
Regression | Turn tail, turn round, turn upon one's heel, turn one's back upon; retrace one's steps, dance the back step; sound a retreat, beat a retreat; go home. |
Sequence | Attend, beset, dance attendance on, dog; tread in the steps of, tread close upon; be in the wake of, be in the trail of, be in the rear of, go in the wake of, go in the trail of, go in the rear of, follow in the wake of, follow in the trail of, follow in the rear of; follow as a shadow, hang on the skirts of; tread on the heels of, follow on the heels of; camp on the trail. |
Slowness | Jog trot, dog trot; mincing steps; slow march, slow time. |
Adverb: slowly; Adjective: leisurely; piano, adagio; largo, larghetto; at half speed, under easy sail; at a foots pace, at a snail's pace, at a funeral pace; in slow time, with mincing steps, with clipped wings; haud passibus aequis. | |
Tergiversation | Draw in one's horns, eat one's words; eat the leek, swallow the leek; swerve, flinch, back out of, retrace one's steps, think better of it; come back return to one's first love; turn over a new leaf; (repent). |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Steps |
| English words defined with "steps": Bed steps ♦ flight of steps. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "steps": Blenheim Steps. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "steps": Scalaria. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Nobody steps on a church in my town (Ghostbusters; writing credit: Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.) I'm a private no-class dogface. The way most civilians look at that, that's two steps up from nothin' (From Here to Eternity; writing credit: Ernest Tidyman) He was a carpenter and I figured if you're going to follow in somebody's footsteps, why not the steps of our lord and savior (Meet the Parents; writing credit: Greg Glienna; Mary Ruth Clarke) People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone (The American President; writing credit: Aaron Sorkin) Teeny weeny flight of steps, Sir Wilfrid, we mustn't forget we've had a teeny weeny heart attack (Witness for the Prosecution; writing credit: Agatha Christie; Larry Marcus) | |
Lyrics | Well, I'll be two steps behind you (Two Steps Behind; performing artist: Def Leppard) I'm gonna camp by your steps (Until You Come Back To Me; performing artist: Aretha Franklin) It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me ("Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head"; performing artist: B.J. Thomas) Foreign steps are terrorizing (Choose; performing artist: Color Me Badd) And I'm counting the steps to the door of your heart (Don't Dream It's Over; performing artist: Crowded House) | |
Movie/TV Titles | In the Steps of a Dead Man (1974) 11 Steps to Survival (1973) 80 Steps to Jonah (1969) The Thirty-Nine Steps (1959) Steps to Success (1959) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | This is a series of 16 photos demonstrating the 16 steps of a clinical breast examination. The steps are as follows: 1) arms in normal position 2) arms on hips 3) pressed forward elbows 4) pressed forward 5) arms overhead 6) arms overhead 7) arms raised and pressing down 8) exam of cervical nodes 9) exam of supraclavicular 10) infraclavicular 11) axilla 12) exam of breast 13) axilla 14) breast exam 15) exam of nipple 16) exam of nipple for discharge. Credit: Photogroup (photographer). |  | Shown is a oriental technician performing a breast pathology test on some frozen breast tissue. She is standing and wearing a white lab coat. She appears to be compressing breast tissue in a small lab dish and inspecting it. This is one of the steps in an estrogen receptor assay. Results suggest whether removal of ovaries or use of antiestrogen drugs are likely to be effective. Credit: Linda Bartlett (photographer). |
 | Steps of "exoantigen" technique, used for immunoidentification of systemic dimorphic fungal pathogens including Histoplasma. Chart. Credit: CDC. |  | This artist's illustration shows three steps in the merger of a pair white dwarf stars. The ... Credit: NASA. |
 | This sequence of pictures shows successive steps in optical improvement from ground based ... Credit: NASA. |  | Preliminary steps for rescue of crewman with medical emergency from MILLER FREEMAN by helicopter. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | A scene reminiscent of the "green hell" of World War II - coral shoreline with heavy jungle vegetation growing within steps of the water. Credit: Small World. |  | Team members from F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., race up the steps of the Fayetteville, W.Va., court house during the end of the 5.5-mile run, the last event in a four-event competition sponsored by Navy Morale, Welfare and Recreation dubbed Wilderness. |
 | Microbiologist Rodney Bothast adjusts a laboratory fermenter that uses glycerol from vegetable oil. After fermentation and a couple of intermediate steps, the glycerol becomes acrylic acid that can be used to make plastic goods. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Keith Weller.. |  | Steps to lighthouse at the Coast Guard facility. Credit: Jerry Sintz. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Pool Steps" by Lisa McDonald Commentary: "Freeform steps underwater in swimming pool; light & dark splotches are reflections on the surface of the water are of the sky and tree overhead." | "Steps in a Ruined Abbey" by Kit Barker Commentary: "A short staircase in Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire, UK." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Play | Caption |
 | Stairs; steps; stair; staircase; trip; fall; stumble; stumbling; tumble; tumbling. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Amos Bronson Alcott | Our dreams drench us in senses, and senses steps us again in dreams. |
Aristophanes | Your lost friends are not dead, but gone before, advanced a stage or two upon that road which you must travel in the steps they trod. |
Johann Kaspar Lavater | Action, looks, words, steps, form the alphabet by which you may spell character. |
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe | The heights charm us, but the steps do not; with the mountain in our view we love to walk the plains. |
Lord Byron | Who tracks the steps of glory to the grave? |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | It shall take all steps which it thinks proper to ensure the freedom, fairness, and secrecy of the vote. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Emma | Austen, Jane | And Mr. Weston at the same time, walking briskly with long steps through the passage, was calling out, |
Sylvie and Bruno | Carroll, Lewis | I moved away a few steps, and waited to follow her into the carriage, where I resumed the conversation |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | The minister went up the steps. |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | His exhaustion was so great, that every three or four steps he was obliged to take breath, and leaned against the wall |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | He had done well not to salute her on the steps of the library |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | Tom strolled away casually, but as soon as he was away from the group he hurried his steps, and he disappeared among the willows that lined the river |
Gulliver's Travels | Swift, Jonathan | It had four steps, and a stone to cross over when you came to the uppermost |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | The transplantation process has many steps. (references) | |
It can involve many steps and decisions each day. (references) | ||
XXY boys should not be given tasks that have many small steps. (references) | ||
Business | The next steps must comply with WTO measures. (references) | |
In Greece, E-commerce is making its first steps. (references) | ||
The two sides are considering steps for bilateral cooperation in this area. (references) | ||
Children | France | Child abuse was a problem, which the Government took steps to address. (references) |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Steps were taken during the year to integrate minority students into some schools. (references) | |
Mozambique | NGO's and the Government took some steps to protect and reintegrate into families or other supervised conditions an estimated 3,000 street children in the Maputo metropolitan area. (references) | |
Civil Liberties | Ukraine | In 2000 the authorities took steps to strengthen their control over the broadcasting sector. (references) |
Egypt | In response to strong criticism of the Ottoman decree, President Mubarak took several steps to facilitate church repairs. (references) | |
Libya | In 1997 the Vatican established diplomatic relations, stating that the country had taken steps to protect freedom of religion. (references) | |
Economic History | Spain | A summary of the steps involved follows. (references) |
Ecuador | Procurement by public invitation involves various steps. (references) | |
North Korea | The 1994 Agreed Framework calls for the following steps. (references) | |
Human Rights | Senegal | The Minister of Justice has taken steps to eliminate the backlog of cases in the judiciary system. (references) |
Brazil | Sao Paulo state prison officials continued to take steps to improve the quality of the guard force. (references) | |
Australia | The Tasmanian government over the next 6 months took specific steps to implement extensive reforms to prison operations. (references) | |
Indigenous People | Japan | The Ainu continue to face societal discrimination while engaging in an uphill struggle against complete assimilation, although Ainu-language newspapers, radio programs, and academic programs studying Ainu culture have increased since 1997. In March the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) noted that the country "has not taken sufficient steps to address the issue of discriminatory treatment of Koreans and Ainu living in" the country. (references) |
Minorities | Czech Republic | The Government also took steps to improve its cooperation with representatives of the Roma community. (references) |
Political Economy | TURKEY | Nonbinding mediation is the last of those steps. (references) |
Political Rights | United Kingdom | Also in July, the British and Irish Governments issued a blueprint--the Weston Park Document--mandating steps for the parties and Governments to address outstanding problems in implementing the agreement. (references) |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | In accordance with its rights under the Constitution, in 1996 the Nevis Assembly initiated steps towards secession from the Federation, the most recent being a referendum in 1998 that failed to secure the required two-thirds majority for secession. (references) | |
Hong Kong | The Basic Law states that "the ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures." To date, the Government has not initiated any steps to prepare for a change in the procedure for choosing the Chief Executive. (references) | |
Trade | Spain | Spain has taken steps to improve its investment and brokerage entities. (references) |
India | Several steps have been taken to improve liquidity in the ADR / GDR market abroad. (references) | |
Brazil | Each industry must perform certain basic assembly steps in the zone in order to qualify for fiscal incentives. (references) | |
Travel | West Bank | American citizens should maintain a low profile and take appropriate steps to reduce their vulnerability. (references) |
Uk | Due to the circumstances described above, visitors should take steps to ensure the safety of their U.S. passports. (references) | |
Saudi Arabia | The Embassy strongly encourages all Americans resident in Saudi Arabia to likewise take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness and lessen their vulnerability. (references) | |
Women | Philippines | Sex tourism is a serious problem, but few steps have been taken to end the practice. (references) |
Liechtenstein | The new law entered into force on January 1. The Government has taken additional steps to end discrimination against women. (references) | |
Israel and the occupied territories | The law prohibits domestic violence; however, violence against women is a problem, despite the steps taken by the Government and other organizations to reduce violence against women in Jewish and Arab communities. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Turkey | A party that fails to comply with these steps forfeits its rights. (references) |
India | Employers in some industries also have taken steps to combat child labor. (references) | |
Cyprus | Steps have been taken to improve health and safety standards in the workplace in the government-controlled area. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Art Linkletter | Pinwheels. And when I came out and I walked up the aisle, one of them was going one way and one of them was going the other. She says, I got up a few steps and the one on the right fell off, whirled down and landed in a man's lap. |
Bob Costas | Right. But when Giamatti was the commissioner, there weren't steps required that would have in any way impacted the Red Sox, whereas this is not solely about the Yankees, but it's largely about the condition that the Yankees represent. |
Jesse Ventura | Well, I find that steps over the boundary, I think, of the public-private sector in a lot of ways. I think that, you know, it should be more left up to the individual establishment to determine whether they want smokers or don't. |
Rush Limbaugh | So when some minority who's a conservative comes along, and shows you can succeed without following the Democrat dance steps, the Democrats set out to smash that person. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
John Adams | 1797-1801 | Domingo might safely be renewed, I took such steps as seemed to me expedient to ascertain that point. |
Herbert C. Hoover | 1929-1933 | First steps toward that end should not longer be delayed. |
Harry S. Truman | 1945-1953 | If we take the right steps in time we can certainly avoid the disastrous excesses of runaway booms and headlong depressions. |
John F. Kennedy | 1961-1963 | Prudence and good sense do require, however, that new steps be taken to ease the payments deficit and prevent any gold crisis. |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963-1969 | America took the lead in negotiating this treaty and America should now take steps to have it approved at the earliest possible date. |
Gerald Ford | 1974-1977 | Therefore, it is more important than ever that we take steps to control the growth of Federal expenditures. |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | Because we had taken steps to reorganize our refugee programs, we met that test successfully. |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | Their challenge is to take irreversible steps toward democracy. |
George Bush | 1989-1993 | When America says something, America means it, whether a treaty or an agreement or a vow made on marble steps. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | This year, I challenge Congress to take the next historic steps. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Steps" is generally used as a noun (plural) -- approximately 96.81% of the time. "Steps" is used about 6,770 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (plural) | 96.81% | 6,554 | 1,473 |
| Noun (proper) | 2.83% | 192 | 22,147 |
| Lexical Verb (-s form) | 0.35% | 24 | 71,196 |
| Total | 100.00% | 6,770 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes names derived from the word "steps". | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Meaning |
| Patrobas | N/A | Biblical | That pursues the steps of his father |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
| |||
Expressions using "steps": a flight of steps ♦ a pair of steps ♦ Alternative 12 Steps ♦ Bed steps ♦ bend one's steps towards ♦ direct one's steps towards ♦ dog smb.'s steps ♦ first steps ♦ flight of steps ♦ folded steps ♦ follow in the steps of ♦ front steps ♦ mince one's steps ♦ pair of steps ♦ pick one's steps ♦ retrace one's steps ♦ sea steps ♦ short steps ♦ speed steps ♦ take steps ♦ take steps against smb. ♦ take steps back ♦ take steps forward ♦ To take steps ♦ tread in smb.'s steps ♦ tread in the steps of smb. ♦ Twelve Steps ♦ two steps ageing ♦ two steps aging ♦ with measured steps. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "steps": steps-down. | |
Ending with "steps": half-steps, mini-steps, side-steps, two-steps. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
steps | 648 | flying steps | 55 |
dance steps | 489 | 10,000 steps | 55 |
truck steps | 231 | ballet steps | 53 |
pool steps | 214 | line dance steps | 46 |
12 steps | 161 | salsa steps | 46 |
capitol steps | 130 | fieldstone steps | 46 |
concrete steps | 123 | stone steps | 45 |
first steps | 97 | dance steps hip hop | 45 |
swimming pool steps | 94 | side steps | 43 |
above ground pool steps | 78 | dodge truck steps | 41 |
spanish steps | 74 | salsa dance steps | 39 |
spa steps | 70 | line dancing steps | 38 |
5 steps | 70 | swing dance steps | 38 |
aa 12 steps | 70 | precast concrete steps | 38 |
the twelve steps | 69 | baby steps | 37 |
steps on broadway | 68 | aerobic steps | 37 |
brick steps | 67 | hot tub steps | 37 |
building steps | 63 | inground pool steps | 36 |
deck steps | 60 | order my steps | 34 |
build steps | 59 | steps to building a house | 33 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "steps"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | marr masa (deal, guard, take measures, take steps), hapa të mëdha (seven-league steps), bëj hap (take steps). (various references) | |
Arabic | خطوات, إجراءات (procedure, proceedings). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | постъпки (doings, representations). (various references) | |
Chinese | 步 (STEP, Step-). (various references) | |
Czech | štafle (step ladder, stepladder). (various references) | |
Danish | trin (round, rung, second level first stage, second level second stage, stage), trapper (bustards), afsatser (altars). (various references) | |
Dutch | trappen (kick, pedal), trap (degree, grade, kick, staircase, stairs, stairway), bordessen (altars), banketten (altars). (various references) | |
Esperanto | klopodi (aim, attempt, endeavour, take steps, undertake). (various references) | |
Faeroese | royna (aim, attempt, endeavour, go through, live to see, take steps, test, try, undertake), gera sær ómak (aim, attempt, endeavour, take steps, undertake). (various references) | |
Finnish | portaat (staircase, stairs). (various references) | |
French | escalier (staircase, stairs, stairway). (various references) | |
German | treppe (flight, flight of stairs, stair, staircase, stairs, stairway, stairwayUS, stoop). (various references) | |
Greek | κλίμακες, κλίμακα (scale), σκαλοπάτια, βήματα, βαθμίδες (altars), αναβαθμοί (altars). (various references) | |
Hebrew | לנקוט באמצעים (take measures, take steps), סולם מדרגות (a pair of steps, stepladder). (various references) | |
Hungarian | utaslépcső (flight of steps, passenger loading stairs), lépcsősor (flight of steps, staircase, stairs). (various references) | |
Indonesian | menganjakkan (take steps), bertindak (act, measures, take steps). (various references) | |
Italian | gradinata (tier). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | ステアリン酸 (dance step, stacker, state, status, steal, stearic acid, Stegodon, Stegosaurus, step, step-by-step, stepfamily, steppe, stepping, stick, sticker, stinger, stitch, thingirl). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ステップス . (various references) | |
Korean | 단계 (phase, Phases, STEP, Step-). (various references) | |
Manx | greeishyn (flight of steps), aarey fillit (pair of steps, stepladder). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | epsstay.(various references) | |
Polish | starać się (aim, attempt, endeavour, take steps, undertake). (various references) | |
Portuguese | degraus dissipadores de energia (spillway, stepped energy destroying, velocity reducing steps). (various references) | |
Romanian | scarã (a pair of stairs, escalator, flight, footboard, ladder, rank, riser, running board, scale, series, staircase, stairs, step, stirrup), scãriţã (small ladder, stirrup), mãsurã (action, amount, arrangement, bar, beat, degree, dimension, extent, length, measure, measurement, out size, proceeding, rate, reservation, rhythm, size, sobriety, step, time). ( |
