A footstep is the sound your foot makes when it touches the ground while walking or running. You might hear footsteps echoing down an empty hallway at school, or recognize your mom's familiar footsteps coming up the stairs at home. Different surfaces create different footstep sounds: leaves crunch, wooden floors creak, and gravel crunches.

The word also means the actual mark or impression a foot leaves behind, like footsteps in snow or sand. Detectives might follow a suspect's footsteps in the mud, and hikers can see animal footsteps along a trail.

When someone says they want to “follow in their father's footsteps,” they mean pursuing the same career or life path he chose. A child might follow in a parent's footsteps by becoming a doctor, or a young athlete might follow in a coach's footsteps by taking up the same sport.