stair•step
Pronunciation: (stâr'step"), [key] — n., v., adj. -stepped, -step•ping,
—n. - a step in a staircase.
- stairs; a staircase.
- a person or thing whose position, status, behavior, or the like suggests the shape or rise of the steps in a staircase: Their six children are stairsteps ranging from ages two to twelve.
—v.i. - to occur or move in a regular pattern suggesting the steps of a staircase: housing units stairstepping down the hill to the edge of the lake.
—adj. - suggesting or resembling the steps of a staircase, as in movement or shape: stairstep progress in improved appliance sales.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.