intransitive verb
1. : to yield ground by moving to the rear
ordered the spectators to step back
2. : recede
end chimneys which step back unattached above the second story — American Guide Series: North Carolina
transitive verb
: to construct (as a building) in an ascending series of steps or stages of diminishing width : build so that successive stories or groups of stories recede farther and farther from the front, side, or back
an octagonal tower … rising sheer to 13 stories and then stepped back three times to a height of 327 feet — American Guide Series: New York