step-down

American  

[step-doun] / 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

Example Sentences

Another factor to consider: Are there any big expenses coming up that coincide with your sabbatical or step-down?

From MarketWatch • Mar. 4, 2026

Dodsworth says these "step-down" facilities can help patients get back on to their feet while not taking up a hospital bed.

From BBC • Jan. 11, 2026

It was her fourth such stay, and the first one the county had agreed should be followed by a step-down program, she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 11, 2023

When she is discharged, it is with the recommendation that she attend a step-down program—some sort of intensive outpatient therapy program that can give her a couple of months of support.

From Slate • Jun. 11, 2023

If the pressure or voltage of the secondary coil is less than that of the primary, we have a "step-down" transformer.

From The Story of Great Inventions by Burns, Elmer Ellsworth

Related Words

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