procedure
Americannoun
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procedures
plural
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an act or a manner of proceeding in any action or process; conduct.
- Synonyms:
- management
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a particular course or mode of action.
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any given mode of conducting legal, parliamentary, or other business, especially litigation and judicial proceedings.
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Computers.
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the sequence of actions or instructions to be followed in solving a problem or accomplishing a task.
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Also called subprogram. a group of statements that may be used at one or more points in a computer program.
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noun
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a way of acting or progressing in a course of action, esp an established method
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the established mode or form of conducting the business of a legislature, the enforcement of a legal right, etc
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computing another name for subroutine
Usage
What does procedure mean? A procedure is a particular way of doing something, especially one that is usually repeated in the same way each time. This is how the word is used in the phrases standard procedure and follow procedure, as in It’s important to follow procedure in the event of an emergency. The word procedure can also refer to a particular course of action, as in The instructions list all the steps of the procedure. This is especially used in professional and technical contexts. In a legal context, the word refers to the specific way that proceedings need to be carried out according to the rules. In a medical context, procedure is used as a synonym for operation, as in I’m having a minor procedure done tomorrow. In computers and programming, a procedure is a series or instructions followed in order to complete some task, often as part of a program. Example: This is not proper procedure! Who’s in charge here?
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of procedure
From the French word procédure, dating back to 1605–15. See proceed, -ure
Explanation
A procedure is a tried and true process or method used to accomplish a particular task. Using sharp metal picks, dentists scrape the plaque from their patients’ teeth. While effective, it’s a procedure most people despise. The word procedure is often used in the fields of medicine and law, sometimes in combination with other words, as in "surgical procedure" or "legal procedure." A "Parliamentary procedure" is the set of rules that you follow at a meeting of a club or some other organization (not necessarily a House of Parliament). Procedure is also related to the word procedural, which is sometimes used a term for a genre of television drama in which the plot revolves around a technical procedure, like the solving of a police case.
Vocabulary lists containing procedure
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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The Scientific Method
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Nearly a year after having the outpatient procedure on her right knee, she says the result feels almost the same as the total knee replacement she previously underwent on her left knee.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
That is to stay above police helicopters, under commercial flights, and still have enough space in case they need to perform an emergency autorotation procedure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
The Skims founder is then shown in a hospital bed in a series of clips, one in which it appears she’s being wheeled into a procedure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
They offer deinfibulation - a procedure that can be carried out during pregnancy that to separate fused tissue and enable safer births.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Kate asked, after watching this curious procedure a moment.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
The agreement would still need to go through "the necessary parliamentary procedures to enter into force" once signed, the statement noted.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
It must still go through parliamentary procedures in Denmark and Greenland before taking effect.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Hyrox’s co-founder released a statement on Instagram apologizing for not taking action during the race and stating that new rules and procedures were in place to prevent future incidents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
While pilots and instructors stress standardizing procedures and flight paths, news incidents like police chases, fires, and crashes force pilots into new conditions during every flight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Many Progressives—who tended to be middle-class white Protestants—held deep prejudices against immigrants and blacks and were so convinced of their own virtuous authority that they disdained democratic procedures.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
