false step

noun
1.
a stumble.
2.
an unwise or blundering act.
Examples from the web for false step
  • One false step, a stumble, would have sent us whirling into space.
  • Through a false step he came between a slowly moving train and tho high freight platform, and was rolled along for several feet.
  • Fer a time he haW succeed ed in cowing them, but a single false step must destroy him.
  • One false step and they would sink beneath the ice to die miserably.
British Dictionary definitions for false step

false step

noun
1.
an unwise action
2.
a stumble; slip
Idioms and Phrases with false step

false step

A stumble or blunder, as in Making a down payment without securing a mortgage was clearly a false step. This term transfers physical stumbling or tripping to other enterprises. [ c. 1700 ]