foot vs step

foot

verb
  • To walk. 

  • To sum up, as the numbers in a column; sometimes with up. 

  • To tread to measure of music; to dance; to trip; to skip. 

  • To renew the foot of (a stocking, etc.). 

  • To use the foot to kick (usually a ball). 

  • To pay (a bill). 

noun
  • The part of a flat surface on which the feet customarily rest. 

  • The basic measure of rhythm in a poem. 

  • Travel by walking. 

  • The end of a rectangular table opposite the head. 

  • In a bryophyte, that portion of a sporophyte which remains embedded within and attached to the parent gametophyte plant. 

  • The part of a sewing machine which presses downward on the fabric, and may also serve to move it forward. 

  • The bottom edge of a sail. 

  • A unit of measure equal to twelve inches or one third of a yard, equal to exactly 30.48 centimetres. 

  • The base of a piece of type, forming the sides of the groove. 

  • A short foot-like projection on the bottom of an object to support it. 

  • A biological structure found in many animals that is used for locomotion and that is frequently a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg. 

  • A unit of measure for organ pipes equal to the wavelength of two octaves above middle C, approximately 328 mm. 

  • The bottommost part of a typed or printed page. 

  • Specifically, a human foot, which is found below the ankle and is used for standing and walking. 

  • The base or bottom of anything. 

  • The parsing of syllables into prosodic constituents, which are used to determine the placement of stress in languages along with the notions of constituent heads. 

  • The globular lower domain of a protein. 

  • The muscular part of a bivalve mollusc or a gastropod by which it moves or holds its position on a surface. 

  • Fundamental principle; basis; plan. 

  • The point of intersection of one line with another that is perpendicular to it. 

  • Foot soldiers; infantry. 

  • Recognized condition; rank; footing. 

  • The end of a cigar which is lit, and usually cut before lighting. 

  • The end of a billiard or pool table behind the foot point where the balls are racked. 

step

verb
  • To walk; to go on foot; especially, to walk a little distance. 

  • To dance. 

  • To walk slowly, gravely, or resolutely. 

  • To move mentally; to go in imagination. 

  • To move the foot in walking; to advance or recede by raising and moving one of the feet to another resting place, or by moving both feet in succession. 

  • To fix the foot of (a mast) in its step; to erect. 

  • To set, as the foot. 

noun
  • The space passed over by one movement of the foot in walking or running. 

  • The interval between two contiguous degrees of the scale. 

  • A running board where passengers step to get on and off the bus. 

  • The part of a spade, digging stick or similar tool that a digger's foot rests against and presses on when digging; an ear, a foot-rest. 

  • A rest, or one of a set of rests, for the foot in ascending or descending, as a stair, or a rung of a ladder. 

  • A print of the foot; a footstep; a footprint; track. 

  • Proceeding; measure; action; act. 

  • One of a series of offsets, or parts, resembling the steps of stairs, as one of the series of parts of a cone pulley on which the belt runs. 

  • A small space or distance. 

  • A portable framework of stairs, much used indoors in reaching to a high position. 

  • A framing in wood or iron which is intended to receive an upright shaft; specifically, a block of wood, or a solid platform upon the keelson, supporting the heel of the mast. 

  • A gait; manner of walking. 

  • An advance or movement made from one foot to the other; a pace. 

  • A bearing in which the lower extremity of a spindle or a vertical shaft revolves. 

  • A change of position effected by a motion of translation. 

  • A walk; passage. 

  • A distinct part of a process; stage; phase. 

  • A stepchild. 

  • A stepsibling. 

  • A constant difference between consecutive values in a series. 

How often have the words foot and step occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )