Stepped with cushion around carnage outside (5)
I believe the answer is:
paced
'stepped' is the definition.
(to pace is to take a step)
'cushion around carnage outside' is the wordplay.
'cushion' becomes 'pad' (to cushion something is to pad it).
'around' is an insertion indicator.
'outside' means to remove the middle letters.
'carnage' with its centre taken out is 'ce'.
'pad' enclosing 'ce' is 'PACED'.
'with' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for paced that I've seen before include "Walked about in a preoccupied or frustrated way" , "Walked at a steady speed" , "Moved steadily" , "Made anxious moves" , "Measured (a distance) by walking" .)