Step

A step is a unit of length based on the distance between a person's two feet while walking. It is one of several body-based units of measurement, such as a cubit, foot, and handspan. Such units were historically used for rough measurement without requiring instruments.

Because human heights vary, the step is not a standardized universal unit. Different systems defined it with different values. For this reason, the step fell out of use in modern scientific measurement and was replaced by the meter.

Definition and measurement

Generally, a step is defined as the distance from where the right foot lands to where the left foot lands next—this is also called a double step (some systems called it a full stride). In early European systems, a step was roughly 75 to 80 centimeters, while a double step reached about a meter and a half.

Historical use

Ancient Rome used the double step (passus) to measure distances on roads. A thousand double steps was called a mille passus, which is the origin of the English word mile. Soldiers and travelers also counted steps to measure daily distances traveled.

Present day

Today steps are mainly used in health tracking, for example in wearable devices that count daily steps. In this context, a step is a measure of movement, not a defined unit of length. The term is also used informally in everyday speech to mean something is a certain number of steps away.