stepmeal
/ˈstɛpˌmiːl/
"stepmeal" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“stepmeal” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One step at a time; step by step; gradually; by degrees.
Corpus desk
Index EN-stepmeal · stepmeal · English
stepmeal · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | stepmeal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˈstɛpˌmiːl/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “stepmeal” in English
Rare enough to double-check
stepmeal is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed /ˈstɛpˌmiːl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "One step at a time; step by step; gradually; by degrees.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for stepmeal, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English *stepmele, *stapmele, from Old English stæpmǣlum (“step by step; gradually, by degrees”), equivalent to step + -meal. The correct English form is stepmeal, spelled S-T-E-P-M-E-A-L.
Definition
- 1One step at a time; step by step; gradually; by degrees.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how stepmeal appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He who would see it with his mind's eye must begin by very little, and then by little and little climb nigher and nigher, and stepmeal, as if he were climbing on a ladder, and would be up on some sea'cliff; […]
One does not need to underline how, stepmeal (SIC), all this imitates Communist practice. This would be damaging enough. But the new rightist government has gone much further. It has laid strict control on the Greek Orthodox Church.
Etymology
From Middle English *stepmele, *stapmele, from Old English stæpmǣlum (“step by step; gradually, by degrees”), equivalent to step + -meal.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.