step one
Where to start
Step one is the beginning of a process or sequence, often invoked when explaining how to accomplish something: Step one is admitting you have a problem.
The phrase emphasizes that what follows is foundational—nothing else can happen until this part is done.
It appears in instructions, self-help contexts, and sarcastically when someone has skipped basics: Maybe we should go back to step one.
- beginningInitial stage of something
- firstPosition number one
- startTo set going
- starting pointPlace of commencement
- foundationUnderlying support structure
initial · ground floor · kickoff · launch · commence · getting started · basics · groundwork · from scratch · primer · intro · threshold · doorway · footprint · staircase · instruction · process · sequence
- assembly instructionsparts list, diagram, exploded view, screws, bolts
- stagesbeginning, start, end, finish, middle
- getting startedgetting started, start, begin, basics, introduction
- recoveryrecovery, sobriety, rehab, recover, recovery room
- stepspace, stride, tread, stomp, footsteps
- beginning phrasesonce upon a time, in the beginning, first of all, to start with, to begin with
step onefinal step
Ultimate action in sequence
the end · conclusion · completion · finish · end point
step onefinishing touches
Last refinements before completion
completion · denouement · culmination · endgame · wrap-up
step, one, steps, stepped, stepping, stepper, stepwise, footstep, doorstep