lockstep

UK: /ˈlɒkˌstɛp/ US: /ˈlɑkˌstɛp/ ,(lok′step′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

lock•step /ˈlɑkˌstɛp/   n. [uncountable]

1. a way of marching in which the leg of each person moves with and closely behind the corresponding leg of the person ahead.
2. a rigid and inflexible pattern or process:
   to be in lockstep to the old way of doing things.

adj. [before a noun]

3. rigid and inflexible:
   lockstep educational procedures.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

lock•step  (lok′step′), n. 

1. a way of marching in very close file, in which the leg of each person moves with and closely behind the corresponding leg of the person ahead.
2. a rigidly inflexible pattern or process.

adj. 

3. rigidly inflexible:
   a lockstep educational curriculum.

• lock¹ + step 1795–1805

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

lockstep / ˈlɒkˌstɛp/ noun

1. a method of marching in step such that the marchers follow one another as closely as possible
2. a standard procedure that is closely, often mindlessly, followed
3. in lockstep with ⇒ progressing at exactly the same speed and in the same direction as other people or things, esp as a matter of course rather than by choice