procedural

American  

[pruh-see-jer-uhl] / prəˈsi dʒər əl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a procedure or procedures, especially of a court of law, legislative body, or law enforcement agency.

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noun

procedurals plural

1. police procedural.

Usage

What does procedural mean? Procedural is used to describe things that involve a specific procedure—a particular way of doing something, especially one that is usually repeated in the same way each time. The word procedural is especially used in the context of formal, official procedures, such as those used in government and law. A procedural vote is typically one that is simply part of the process to move forward to a full and final vote on a matter. A procedural agreement is a kind of contract that governs how a collective bargaining process will be carried out. Procedural can also be used as a noun to refer to a procedural drama—work of fiction, especially a TV show, that realistically portrays a kind of professional work. A common type of procedural is a police procedural. The popular show Law & Order is a procedural. Example: This meeting is solely to deal with procedural matters—the debate on the actual issues will come later.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonprocedural
  adjective
• procedurally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• procedurals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of procedural

First recorded in 1885–90; procedure + -al ¹

Explanation

If you have to follow so many rules at work that it seems like nothing ever gets done, you could say that the procedural requirements of your job are getting you down. The adjective procedural describes something related to a required or standard course of action. Legal types are probably already familiar with the word procedural, which is often used to describe matters related to the law. The Senate, for example, may cite procedural roadblocks as the reason why nothing has been accomplish in a session. So that would give the Senate something in common with your workplace: having too many rules to follow — "procedural overload" — makes things take a long time.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

procedural procedurals

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, to take the case out of the 9th Circuit, a procedural move to protect the judges’ working relationships and ensure the outcome is untainted by personal bias.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Together, these measures form an elaborate system of small-business privilege: regulatory exemptions, contracting set-asides, subsidized capital and procedural rights that compel agencies to weigh small firms’ interests when they write rules.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

The appeals to the emergency docket have long outnumbered those to the merits docket, but most are procedural requests or requests to stay execution for capital offenses.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

She called the EU inquiry "a procedural step" that "does not in any way prejudge the outcome of the investigation".

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

It is procedural: it is about knowing bow to do something without necessarily knowing why you know it or being able to explain it.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

It’s also a send-up of legal procedurals, with Lincoln’s cases including a fight over who’s the real Santa Claus and a custody battle that devolves into a theological debate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

This template is recognizable from any number of police procedurals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

But beyond the procedurals for which Wolf is famous, along with a few bright comedies, the broadcast primetime landscape is as creatively sparse as the dry brush covering the Permian Basin.

From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2025

Between that and bloodless network procedurals, death transforms from a tragedy and a sin into a mystery or a puzzle.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2024

The predictability and formulaic nature of such procedurals, the very qualities that turn off some viewers and critics, are what its fans value.

From New York Times ● May 28, 2024