lockstep

• lock-step, lock step

From lock +‎ step.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈlɒkstɛp/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

lockstep (usually uncountable, plural locksteps)

1. (military) A step whereby the toe of one man is brought very close to the heel of the man in front.
2. (figuratively) Close connection, unison, rigid synchronization.
   • 2007, Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes, Penguin, published 2008, page xv:

     The CIA's analysts learned to march in lockstep, conforming to conventional wisdom.

   • 2025 February 25, Linda Feldmann, “How Trump skirts checks and balances unlike any modern-day US president”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

     But what [the Founding Fathers] weren’t counting on was lockstep partisanship, which translates today into a pro-Trump, pro-MAGA congressional majority that is likely to reinforce the president’s agenda, at least until the 2026 midterm elections.

3. An inflexible, rigid or stifling pattern.

lockstep (not comparable)

1. In close connection, in unison, synchronized.
   • 1983 February 5, Marc Killinger, “Universities Reinstate Military Recruiters”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 28, page 3:

     With both official university policies lock-step in favor of military recruitment, the next move is up to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations.

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