1
as in to leave
to give up (a job or office)
with the advent of his 90th birthday, he could no longer resist calls for him to step down from chairmanship of the board
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to resign
to give up (as a position of authority) formally
even in the face of a palace revolt, Queen Elizabeth I refused to step down from the throne
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for step down (from)
Verb
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Guests are encouraged to leave their small army assistants and handlers behind (though some stash them in nearby hotels).—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
10 June 2025 -
The report said nearly a third of Britain’s 2.4M creative employees experience workplace conflict, resulting in people leaving jobs early or being out of work.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
10 June 2025
Verb
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One candidate, Cuomo, was handed the keys to New York State, but resigned in disgrace in a blaze of corruption, mismanagement, and abuse.—
Brad Lander,
New York Daily News,
6 June 2025
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But many of his jobs ended with him being fired or forced to resign, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
6 June 2025
Verb
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Despite bipartisan and nearly unequivocal support for Gypsum Canyon in the intervening four years, Agran has refused to relinquish his goal of completing a veterans cemetery in Irvine.—
Jonathan Horwitz,
Oc Register,
28 May 2025
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Harvard University will relinquish 175-year-old photographs believed to be the earliest taken of enslaved people to a South Carolina museum devoted to African American history as part of a settlement with one of the subjects’ descendants.—
Leah Willingham,
Christian Science Monitor,
28 May 2025
Verb
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Queen Margrethe later abdicated on Jan. 14, 2024, making her elder son King Frederik X of Denmark.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
6 June 2025
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Khalil is the bridge through which the film makes its arguments about the hypocrisy of élite liberal education, which feeds on ideals of free inquiry and free speech and abdicates its responsibility in freeing people.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
17 May 2025
Verb
-
Privately, the show’s lead actress, Emily Meade, threatened to quit.—
Jennifer Wilson,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
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After being a successful child actor in the 1950s, Talbot quit acting at the age of 14.—
Meredith Wilshere,
People.com,
7 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Step down (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/step%20down%20%28from%29. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
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