goose step

noun
1.
a marching step of some infantries in which the legs are swung high and kept straight and stiff.
2.
a military exercise in which the body is balanced on one foot, without advancing, while the other foot is swung forward and back.
Origin
1800-10

goose-step

[goos-step] /ˈgusˌstɛp/
verb (used without object), goose-stepped, goose-stepping.
1.
to march in a goose step:
Troops goose-stepped past the reviewing stand.
Origin
1875-80
Related forms
goose-stepper, noun
Examples from the web for goose-step
  • When a bunch of dimwit, snowmobiling punks discover a box full of said auric treasures, out goose-step the dead brownshirts.
  • They walk in a stilted manner that has been likened to the goose-step of parading soldiers.
  • Some carry banners, others wear helmets, still others do the goose-step.
British Dictionary definitions for goose-step

goose step

noun
1.
a military march step in which the leg is swung rigidly to an exaggerated height, esp as in the German army in the Third Reich
2.
an abnormal gait in animals
verb -steps, -stepping, -stepped
3.
(intransitive) to march in goose step
Word Origin and History for goose-step

goose step

n.

1806, originally was a military drill to teach balance; "to stand on each leg alternately and swing the other back and forth" (which, presumably, reminded someone of a goose's way of walking); in reference to "marching without bending the knees" (as in Nazi military reviews) it apparently is first recorded 1916. As a verb by 1854.

goose-step in Culture

goose step definition


A straight-legged style of military marching used by the armies of several nations, but associated particularly with the army of Germany under the Nazis.

Note: The term is sometimes used to suggest the unthinking loyalty of followers or soldiers: “Brown has a goose-step mentality.”