step off

English

Verb

step off (third-person singular simple present steps off, present participle stepping off, simple past and past participle stepped off)

1. (separable) To measure by steps or paces; hence, to divide (a space), or to form a series of marks, by successive measurements, as with dividers.

   He measured the garden by stepping it off.

2. (African-American Vernacular, inseparable) To avoid a conflict; to back down

   You had better step off, man...

3. (inseparable) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see step,‎ off.

   He stepped off the train.

   • 2022 January 12, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: the nation's finest stations: Eastbourne”, in RAIL, number 948, page 27:

     Today, when stepping off the train, you're presented with a bright and airy concourse that's ringed with a variety of facilities.