lockstep

lock·step

(lŏk′stĕp′)

1. A way of marching in which the marchers follow each other as closely as possible.

2. A standardized procedure that is closely, often mindlessly followed.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

lockstep

(ˈlɒkˌstɛp)

1. (Military) a method of marching in step such that the men follow one another as closely as possible

2. chiefly US and Canadian 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

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lock•step

(ˈlɒkˌstɛp)

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.

[1795–1805]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	lockstep - a standard procedure that is followed mindlessly; "the union's support had been in lockstep for years"
	2.	lockstep - a manner of marching in file in which each person's leg moves with and behind the corresponding leg of the person ahead; "the prisoner's ankles were so chained together that they could only march in lockstep" marching, march - the act of marching; walking with regular steps (especially in a procession of some kind); "it was a long march"; "we heard the sound of marching"