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• step-down
  step-down

  adjective

  serving to reduce or decrease voltage.
• step down
  step down

  verb

  (tr) to reduce gradually

step-down

American  

[step-daun] / ˈstɛpˌdaʊn /

adjective

Electricity.

1. serving to reduce or decrease voltage.

   a step-down transformer.

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step down British  

verb

1. (tr) to reduce gradually

2. informal (intr) to resign or abdicate (from a position)

3. informal (intr) to assume an inferior or less senior position

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adjective

1. (of a transformer) reducing a high voltage applied to the primary winding to a lower voltage on the secondary winding Compare step up

2. decreasing or falling by stages

noun

1. informal a decrease in quantity or size

step down Idioms  

1. Resign from office, as in He threatened to step down if they continued to argue with him . [Late 1800s]

2. Reduce, especially in stages, as in They were stepping down the voltage . [c. 1900] Also see step up , def. 1.

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Etymology

Origin of step-down

First recorded in 1890–95; adj. use of verb phrase step down

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

step-down step down

This and a step-down in exits meant EQT’s fee-generating assets under management at the end of the first half exceeded expectations by 10 billion euros at 155.4 billion euros, the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Still, revenue fell by roughly $678 million from the prior quarter, given Covid seasonality and a step-down in vaccination rates from 2025, Tsai noted.

From Barron's ● May 1, 2026

At the center of the new design is an improved version of a widely used component known as a DC-DC step-down converter.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 10, 2026

“The membership trajectory is tracking very nicely in line with our expectations, including that big step-down from January to February,” she said.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 10, 2026

When the current reaches those places where it is to be used a low voltage is again obtained by the step-down transformer.

From The Niagara River by Archer Butler Hulbert

In the end he agreed to step down and went into exile Equatorial Guinea.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

The third step down to disaster is the easiest to miss.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Damion Wright, who became director of the Department of Family and Children’s Services soon after an infant’s fentanyl-related death, will step down next month.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

Ynon Kreiz will step down as chairman and CEO effective Oct.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

I rotated as she finished reading the card that described the suit, then moved onto the floor when she gestured for me to step down.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

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Related Words

• abandon
• abdicate
• bow out
• drop out
• leave
• quit
• retire
• terminate

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