catch step

English

Verb

catch step (third-person singular simple present catches step, present participle catching step, simple past and past participle caught step)

1. To match the pace (of another person or a beat).
   • 1882, Charles Heber Clark, Out of the Hurly-burly, Or Life in an Odd Corner, page 109:

     They always start wrong, somehow, when they go out together, and then, while he tries to catch step with her, she endeavors to get in with him. After both have been shuffling about over the pavement for several minutes in a perfectly absurd manner, they go ahead out of step just as before.

   • 1900, Minutes of the Ninth Annual Meeting and Reunion of the United Confederate Veterans, page 9:

     Confronted by the beloved music of the South, the old veterans broke into cheers as they left their trains, and unconsciously caught step in time with the music.

   • 1941, Katheryn Campbell Graham, Under the Cottonwood: A Saga of Negro Life in which the History, Traditions and Folklore of the Negro of the Last Century are Vividly Portrayed, page 174:

     Often he'd catch step with a child and march with him to the inside stairway, then he'd go back and take his place on the steps, and when another child came by that attracted him by his soldierly manner, he'd catch step and walk with him to the inside stairway shouting, “ left, left, left, right, left.”

   • 2019, Louis Dodge, Children of the Desert:

     He had an arm about her firmly in an instant, and when they had caught step with the music he held her close to him.

2. (figurative) To change so as to function harmoniously with; fit in.
   • 1935, Indiana Federation of Clubs, Year Book, page 2:

     And so the pageant moves on and you and I now catch step and for a short time will play our part in making the pattern of the Federation of this day.

   • 1935, Proceedings of the Stated Convention of the 37th National Encampment of the United Spanish War Veterans, page 153:

     It was a wonderfully happy day, and I want you to catch step with your comrades, and let bickerings and anger and hatred all fall away in our love for God's good sunshine and love for this great Republic.

   • 1945, Going Camping with Intermediate Boys and Girls - Volumes 1-5, page 9:

     Speakers sometimes fail to "catch step" with the camp experiences; no speaker should be brought in for the last evening who has not shared with campers all week in their fun as well as their more serious moments.

   • 1961, The Defender - Volume 36, page 8:

     This great moment in the history of a tangled world is a moment to determine the direction of God and to catch step.

   • 1972, Willa Cather, Lucy Gayheart, page 41:

     When I'm eccentric, catch step with me.

3. (figurative) To adjust to advances in circumstances or criteria; catch up.
   • 1921, Michigan Manufacturer & Financial Record - Volume 28, page 5:

     The quickest way to get acquainted with these new conditions is to have them slap us in the face. Wait till we all catch step again, and then watch this country.

   • 1946, Ray Stannard Baker, More Adventures with David Grayson, page 221:

     I had now to take myself over, a going concern, and try to catch step with a swift-moving and clamorous world.

   • 1953, Agricultural Economics Research - Volumes 5-7, page 101:

     By organized effort, farmers were struggling to catch step with the economy – so Dr. Taylor argues.

   • 1978, Lillian B. Horace, L. Venchael Booth, Crowned with Glory and Honor:

     Lacey was behind in his quest of learning, but Clifton insisted that he need only to apply himself diligently, and he would catch step with the best of his group.

Noun

catch step (plural catch steps)

1. A step in which one foot meets the other foot without passing it and the weight shifts to the foot that just moved.
   • 1906, Hints, page 12:

     While introduction is being played the little maid rubs her eyes and looks about, soon spying dandelions. She springs up and walks slowly toward dandelions, using this catch step: Right foot forward, then left brought forward, toe touching floor at right of right foot, then in front of right foot, and lastly to left of right foot.

   • 1956, Ralph Hermon Major, Mahlon H. Delp, Physical Diagnosis, page 320:

     Frequently the patient, after taking a series of normal steps, suddenly takes a very long step with one leg and a catch step with the other, pauses a moment, and then proceeds to walk normally.

   • 1977, Elsie Carter Burton, The New Physical Education for Elementary School Children, page 261:

     The uneven long–short rhythm of the gallop is the same as that of the slide, the first phase of the movement being a slow step and the second a quick catch step.

2. A pause in order to assimilate new information.
   • 2012, Connie Willis, Doomsday Book:

     The interpreter took a catch step before it translated what he'd said, and Kivrin felt a fleeting surprise that she couldn't understand him.