Search the Dictionary

A stepping or going back. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

y, as snakes,, or by means of small, short legs, as lizards, and the like. An inadvertent step may crush the snail That crawls at evening in the public path; But he that has humanity, forewarned, Will tread aside, and let the reptile live. Cowper.

r over (a previous course); to go over again in a reverse direction; as, to retrace one's steps; to retrace one's proceedings.

Reverse fire (Mil.), a fire in the rear. -- Reverse operation (Math.), an operation the steps of which are taken in a contrary order to that in which the same or similar steps are taken in another operation considered as direct; an operation in which that is sought which in another operation is given, and that given…

A trough or sluice having cleats, grooves, or steps across the bottom for holding quicksilver and catching particles of gold when auriferous earth is washed; also, one of the cleats, grooves, or steps in such a trough. Also called ripple.

A step or round of a ladder; a rung.

d less commonly sheep and goats; -- called also cattle plague, Russian cattle plague, and steppe murrain.

rmometer was ten degrees; the rise of the river was six feet; the rise of an arch or of a step.

The upright piece of a step, from tread to tread. Hence:

rward; to be violently agitated; to reel; to totter. The rocking town Supplants their footsteps. J. Philips .

A form of melody in which a phrase or passage is successively repeated, each time a step or half step higher; a melodic sequence.

Pieces of undressed timber put under the steps of a wooden stair for their support.

The step of a ladder; a rundle or rung; also, a crosspiece which joins and braces the legs of a chair. All the rounds like Jacob's ladder rise. Dryden.

n element or first principle of any art or science; a beginning of any knowledge; a first step. This boy is forest-born, And hath been tutored in the rudiments of many desperate studies. Shak. There he shall first lay down the rudiments Of his great warfare. Milton.

To move rapidly by springing steps so that there is an instant in each step when neither foot touches the ground; -- so distinguished from walking in athletic competition. As thing run, according to the usual order, conditions, quality, etc.; on the average; without selection or specification. -- To let run (Naut.), t…

A round; a step of a ladder; a rung. Duppa.

Continuous; keeping along step by step; as, he stated the facts with a running explanation. "A running conquest." Milton. What are art and science if not a running commentary on Nature Hare.

opular Italian dance in quick 3-4 or 6-8 time, running mostly in triplets, but with a hop step at the beginning of each measure. See Tarantella.

An overshoe with parallel openings across the instep.

A pavement or stepping-stone. [Prov. Eng.] Johnson.