ENGLISH
REFERENCE

baby step

idiom
Meaning

A small effort made towards the completion of a much larger task.


Origin

disputed origin

From the small, awkward movements of a young child learning to walk.

Examples
SIMPLE

Learning the alphabet is a baby step toward reading.

CONTEXTUAL

She felt overwhelmed by her new project, so she decided to focus on one baby step at a time.

COMPLEX

Although the recovery process was long and difficult, each small improvement served as a necessary baby step toward his full return to health.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    baby and bathwater

    Used in reference to an error in which something valuable is discarded in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted.

  2. 02

    baby elephant in the room

    An obvious but mostly inconsequential issue.

  3. 03

    baby up

    To treat as a baby.

  4. 04

    basin of gravy

    [Cockney slang]baby

  5. 05

    be left holding the baby

    To be left with the responsibility of resolving a problem.

  6. 06

    food baby

    A protruding belly resulting from the consumption of a large quantity of food; the contents of one's digestive system causing the protrusion.

  7. 07

    leave someone holding the baby

    To abandon someone and put them in a position where they must take the responsibility or blame.

  8. 08

    make baby Jesus cry

    To provoke a negative reaction due to being offensive, unpleasant, immoral, etc.

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