1.
step, pace, walking
The act or manner of walking. A literary or formal alternative to the everyday word for walking.
彼女は歩みを止めた。
She stopped walking.
疲れて歩みが遅くなった。
Tired, my pace slowed down.
雪の中、重い歩みで家に向かった。
I headed home with heavy steps through the snow.
2.
progress, course, history
The figurative path or trajectory of development over time. Used for the history or progress of an organization, person, or movement.
会社の歩みを振り返る。
To look back on the company's history.
民主主義の歩みは長い道のりだった。
The progress of democracy has been a long road.
この展示は日本の科学技術の歩みを紹介している。
This exhibition introduces the progress of Japanese science and technology.
USAGE:
The noun form of the verb 歩む. Sense 1 (walking) is literary and used in written or formal contexts; everyday speech prefers 歩くこと. Sense 2 (progress/history) is the more common usage in modern Japanese, especially in book titles, exhibition descriptions, and organizational histories.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 歩みを進める: to advance, to make progress
- 歩みを止める: to stop walking / to halt progress
- 歩みを振り返る: to look back on one's journey
- 歴史の歩み: the course of history