procedure

American  

[pruh-see-jer] / prəˈsi dʒər /

noun

1. an act or a manner of proceeding in any action or process; conduct.

   Synonyms:

   management

2. a particular course or mode of action.

   Synonyms:

   plan, method, operation

3. any given mode of conducting legal, parliamentary, or other business, especially litigation and judicial proceedings.

4. Computers.

   1. the sequence of actions or instructions to be followed in solving a problem or accomplishing a task.

   2. Also called subprogram.  a group of statements that may be used at one or more points in a computer program.

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procedure British  

/ prəˈsiːdʒə /

noun

1. a way of acting or progressing in a course of action, esp an established method

2. the established mode or form of conducting the business of a legislature, the enforcement of a legal right, etc

3. computing another name for subroutine

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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

• procedural adjective
• procedurally adverb

Etymology

Origin of procedure

From the French word procédure, dating back to 1605–15. See proceed, -ure

Example Sentences

On the one hand, politicians object to insurers requiring prior authorization for certain treatments and procedures.

From The Wall Street Journal

Dean Wedge's 86-year-old mother was one of the patients evacuated from a ward, having undergone a procedure on Saturday.

From BBC

The Swiss food conglomerate argued that, in the absence of "European regulations on the presence of cereulide in food", it had followed standard procedures.

From Barron's

Roughly three-quarters of federal operations are affected, potentially triggering shutdown procedures across a wide range of agencies and operations, from education and health to housing and defense.

From Barron's

"The aim is to clarify the details of the cooperation, and to coordinate the procedures," said the ministry.

From Barron's

Related Words

• action
• agenda
• conduct
• form
• measure
• method
• move
• operation
• plan
• policy
• practice
• proceeding
• program
• scheme
• step
• strategy
• transaction