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:
Always more famous for the surgical procedure than his career stats, John died Saturday, the Dodgers announced.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
There is little regulation and there are no official records as anybody can start offering the procedure.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
At the same time the constitutional authority found that certain provisions of the legislation required clarification, including the so-called conscience clause, which allows healthcare professionals to refuse to take part in the procedure.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Tarik Skubal underwent the procedure as a college freshman and Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet had it in 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Visual acuity correctable to 20/20; if there have been surgical procedures to the eye, such as LASIK, a year must have passed since the latest procedure.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
Transport at the Alexander Stadium tournament was also suspended on Saturday as a result of the arrest and necessary security procedures.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
It also found wider weaknesses in policies, procedures and assurance arrangements for handling sensitive personal data.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
When asked why he feels comfortable offering procedures that are concerning surgeons, Hussain says he "totally understands" why some are worried.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
It also helped unleash an online backlash against the health-insurance industry, particularly authorization requirements that can block patients’ access to costly procedures and drugs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
“Documenting the medical procedures of the evacuation, sir,” said Alfred.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
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.
