step aside

step aside

1. Literally, to take a step to one side so as to let someone or something pass by. Please step aside so I can get this trolley through the aisle. The security guard reluctantly stepped aside and allowed us into the club.
2. By extension, to withdraw or retire from some position so as to allow someone else to take one's place. The CEO announced that he would be stepping aside amidst the recent scandal. Dad, you're nearly 70—why don't you step aside and let someone younger do that job?
See also: aside, step
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

step aside

 (for someone)
1. Lit. to move out of someone's way. Would you step aside for my uncle and his walker? We had to step aside for the people in wheelchairs to get by.
2. Fig. to retire from an office so someone else can take over. The president retired and stepped aside for someone else. Walter stepped aside for a younger person to take over.
See also: aside, step
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

step aside

1. Move out of the way, as in Please step aside-I've got my arms full of groceries. This usage was first recorded in 1530.
2. Withdraw, make room for a replacement, as in The senior researcher decided to step aside for a younger colleague. [Second half of 1900s]
See also: aside, step
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

step aside

v.
1. To take a step or to walk to the side so as to give way to another: I stepped aside to let the jogger pass.
2. To resign from a post, especially when being replaced: The chairman of the board asked the executive to step aside for his appointed successor. At the end of her term, she stepped aside and allowed the new appointee to take over.
See also: aside, step
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • step on it
  • Step on it!
  • brick by brick
  • take a step back
  • keep one step ahead of
  • step back
  • keep step
  • fall into step
  • step/tread on someone's toes, to
  • step on the gas
References in periodicals archive
But in this case, there are other factors that should lead him to step aside, she said.
Attorneys, law professors weigh in on whether McCulloch should step aside in fatal shooting case
"Our message is clear: to the people of Syria, the world stands by you, and we will not ignore your plight in the face of ongoing violence; to the Assad regime, the time has come to end the flagrant abuses of the human rights of your people and to step aside so that Syria can transition peacefully and democratically," she concluded.
Clinton commends Human Rights Council''s resolution on Syria
"If they are saying 'we're going to take this in another direction', then I'll gladly step aside. I don't know in my own mind yet what I am going to do."
Harmison: I'll play if wanted
He had negotiated with the UMNO and BN leadership to stay on until mid-2010, but further deterioration in the standing of BN and UMNO among voters increased the pressure on him to step aside.
LEAD: Malaysia's Abdullah says he will step down in March
I believe that 2011 is the right time for me personally to step aside."
Davidson to quit Assembly in 2011
"Dawa cannot present any candidate unless al-Jaafari decides to step aside," al-Adeeb said.
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL: Iraqi Shiites back premier al-Jaafari as nominee
But Wagner, who was profiled in The Advocate in 2004, said calls for him to step aside have little to do with allegations of campaign corruption and everything to do with his being gay.
Too gay for Democrats?
Equally surprising was the announcement that Wolfgang Reichenberger, who holds the Nestle CFO job, would step aside in January to run a new venture capital fund for the group.
Nestle picks former P & G executive
Chretien biographer Lawrence Martin recently suggested that Stephen Harper step aside in favour of Peter McKay.
The natural governing party
Describe the outcome you want, provide direction and deadlines, and then step aside. Express confidence in their competence by letting them do their job.
Share your expertise
By refusing to step aside, Scalia is causing further damage to the image of a court that many Americans already suspect acted improperly in 2000 by blocking the Florida recounts ballots and putting George W.
Blind justice
A Regent student (age, gender and race will go unmentioned to protect privacy) asked me to step aside for a moment and then announced "you got a convert today." That one change of heart was of inestimably greater value that the $10,000 speaking fee that I got for doing the debate and which I turned over immediately to Americans United so we can all fight Pat's anti-separation activities on so many fronts.
My debate at Regent U.: 'Clash of the Titans' (and their action figures)
It is so self-conscious, so apparently moral, simply to step aside from the gaps where the creeks and winds pour down, saying, I never merited this grace, quite rightly, and then to sulk along the rest of your days on the edge of rage.
Think big
Worrried that MacArthur, whom he despised, might run and win, he was, willing to step aside to prevent the famous military hero from becoming president.
Truman as Ike's running mate?
Rather than accepting a spot on the dais as the disloyal opposition, Robbins should step aside and allow Noam Chomsky, Richard Falk, or Howard Zinn to speak from a sounder stance.
Actors don't help. (Letters to the Editor)