half step

Music. semitone.

Military. a step 15 inches (38 cm) long in quick time and 18 inches (46 cm) long in double time.

Origin of half step

First recorded in 1900–05

Melodies are often semi-sung chants, or rely heavily on repeated notes and small step and half-step intervals.

Did Led Zeppelin Steal ‘Stairway to Heaven’? |Ted Gioia |May 25, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The steel robot took a half-step toward him, and Burckhardt involuntarily checked his stride.

The Tunnel Under The World |Frederik Pohl
To the ear of the author the pitch varies through an interval somewhat less than a half-step.

Unwritten Literature of Hawaii |Nathaniel Bright Emerson
Johnnie took a half-step forward, when Hull pressed him back.

House of Torment |Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull

An augmented prime is one whose second tone is one half-step higher than the first.

Music Notation and Terminology |Karl W. Gehrkens
The half-step is usually defined as "the smallest usable interval between two tones."

Music Notation and Terminology |Karl W. Gehrkens

half-step

music, US and Canadian another word for semitone