lockstep

noun

lock·​step ˈläk-ˌstep How to pronounce lockstep (audio)
often attributive
1
: a mode of marching in step by a body of persons going one after another as closely as possible
2
: a standard method or procedure that is mindlessly adhered to or that minimizes individuality
Phrases
in lockstep
: in perfect or rigid often mindless conformity or unison
politicians marching in lockstep with the party line

Examples of lockstep in a Sentence

followed the lockstep that had been in his family for generations: prep school, Ivy League university, job on Wall Street
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
DeSantis is likely to pick someone who is in lockstep with him politically. Ana Ceballos, Miami Herald, 6 Feb. 2025 But a new study, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, shows a lockstep relationship between the amount of plastic found in tissues harvested from human cadavers and the amount being produced by the plastic industry. Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2025 The big picture: To succeed, the president and congressional leadership must manage an exquisitely complicated set of economic and political trade-offs, while maintaining lockstep unity in a Republican party with the narrowest of majorities. Neil Irwin, Axios, 29 Jan. 2025 Andreessen said the party no longer tolerated dissent within its ranks and instead demanded lockstep conformity enforced through cancel culture, effectively reducing the Democrats to a religious cult minus the opportunity for redemption. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for lockstep 

Word History

First Known Use

1787, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of lockstep was in 1787

Dictionary Entries Near lockstep

Cite this Entry

“Lockstep.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lockstep. Accessed 17 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

lockstep

noun
lock·​step -ˌstep How to pronounce lockstep (audio)
: a way of marching in step in which the marchers are very close one behind the other
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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