How to Use a step up/down in a Sentence

a step up/down

idiom
  • The Ravens will certainly be taking a step up in class defensively.
    Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic, 14 Jan. 2025
  • The former lottery pick took a step up last year, averaging over 15 points, doing more with the ball in his hands, and looking primed for a third-year breakout.
    Morten Stig Jensen, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
  • And the way the stage works at the Noel Coward, there’s sort of a step down just as the stage meets the audience.
    Caroline Frost, Deadline, 22 June 2024
  • And the way the stage works at the Noel Coward is there's sort of a step down just as the stage meets the audience.
    Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 18 June 2024
  • The press corps are only a step up from corpse robbers.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2024
  • Even the magnetic charging base feels like a step up from the rest.
    Nick Guy, wsj.com, 8 Sep. 2023
  • Fitzgerald has said the nine-bin sorter is a step up from the three-bin machine the library had at the front of the building.
    Thomas Saccente, arkansasonline.com, 13 July 2024
  • Think of your new fleece as a step up from a regular hoodie.
    Ellen McAlpine, Men's Health, 11 Aug. 2023
  • From Gary Klein: Matthew Stafford placed his right foot gingerly on a step up to the podium and winced through a smile.
    Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2023
  • Was there a way forward for these farmers that wasn’t also a step down?
    Alexander Sammon, Harper's Magazine, 16 Oct. 2023
  • In-state tuition and fees run around $7,360, which is a bit of a step up in cost compared to Florida and Wyoming.
    Becca Stanek, The Week, 20 Apr. 2023
  • Okay, these eggs have stuff inside of them, so that’s a step up from the eggless dystopia of Don’t Worry, Darling.
    Emma Specter, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2024
  • And is that a step down a slippery slope that leads to restrictions that many people would not want on free speech?
    Molly Fischer, The New Yorker, 17 Dec. 2023
  • However, the current 10-Mb bandwidth is a step up from the 7 Mb the initial test satellites managed at the start of the year.
    New Atlas, 6 Dec. 2024
  • The overall threat takes a step down but extends into the Northeast and includes New York City.
    Jennifer Gray, CNN, 3 July 2023
  • That would be a step down from its cut of half a percentage point last month, which kicked off the Fed’s rate-easing campaign.
    Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2024
  • The tour represents a step up in her stand-up career, moving from clubs to theaters.
    Deborah Martin, San Antonio Express-News, 18 Jan. 2022
  • For a step up, gift it in a basket with other skincare products for a full spa day routine.
    Ali Faccenda, Peoplemag, 6 Feb. 2024
  • And do their 54-hole events represent a step down in level of play or preparation?
    Tom Schad, USA TODAY, 24 May 2023
  • Detroit’s Jared Goff is a step up in pretty much every regard.
    Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2023
  • The number would be a step up from the 50 percent raise hike that the union previously rejected from the USMX.
    Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 1 Oct. 2024
  • Then the fair market value of the home could be included in the gross estate and the children would receive a step up in basis at the mother’s death.
    Liz Weston, oregonlive, 24 Apr. 2023
  • Enter: linen tops, which are a step up from your typical tee and come with breezy benefits.
    Michelle Rostamian, Peoplemag, 15 July 2024
  • There’s not a lot of people who have that ability to engage both in detail but also then take a step back, or a step up.
    Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2023
  • This is a step up for Xperia models, which often had lower battery life figures due to the 4K screen.
    Eric Zeman, PCMAG, 15 May 2024
  • White saw his numbers take a step up as his offensive usage increased with Porzingis out of the lineup most of the playoffs.
    Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 June 2024
  • Photos don’t look quite as good as shaded art due to the loss of detail, but even this is a step up from reading comics on a monochrome E Ink screen.
    PCMAG, 18 Sep. 2023
  • This was a step down from the $100 billion valuation the company had raised funds at a year prior.
    Siladitya Ray, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
  • The controls are also a step up due in large part to the inclusion of a proper directional pad.
    Sheena Vasani, The Verge, 10 July 2024
  • These are a step up from the traditional boring paper plate.
    Colleen Sullivan, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Sep. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'a step up/down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: