PROCEDURE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does procedure mean? 

• PROCEDURE (noun)
  The noun PROCEDURE has 4 senses:

1. a particular course of action intended to achieve a result

2. a process or series of acts especially of a practical or mechanical nature involved in a particular form of work

3. a set sequence of steps, part of larger computer program

4. a mode of conducting legal and parliamentary proceedings

  Familiarity information: PROCEDURE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PROCEDURE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A particular course of action intended to achieve a result

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

procedure; process

Context example:

it was a process of trial and error

Hypernyms ("procedure" is a kind of...):

activity (any specific behavior)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "procedure"):

rigamarole; rigmarole (a long and complicated and confusing procedure)

formula; rule ((mathematics) a standard procedure for solving a class of mathematical problems)

condition; experimental condition (the procedure that is varied in order to estimate a variable's effect by comparison with a control condition)

modus operandi; routine (an unvarying or habitual method or procedure)

indirection (indirect procedure or action)

stiffening (the act of becoming stiff)

operating procedure (a procedure for operating something or for dealing with a given situation)

chromosome mapping; mapping ((genetics) the process of locating genes on a chromosome)

calculation; computation; computing (the procedure of calculating; determining something by mathematical or logical methods)

experimental procedure (the specific techniques used in conducting a particular experiment)

emergency procedure ((medicine) a procedure adopted to meet an emergency (especially a medical emergency))

diagnostic procedure; diagnostic technique (a procedure followed in making a medical diagnosis)

genetic fingerprinting; genetic profiling (the procedure of analyzing the DNA in samples of a person's body tissue or body fluid for the purpose of identification)

fingerprinting (the procedure of taking inked impressions of a person's fingerprints for the purpose of identification)

Bertillon system (a system or procedure for identifying persons)

medical procedure (a procedure employed by medical or dental practitioners)

Derivation:

procedural (of or relating to procedure)

proceed (follow a procedure or take a course)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A process or series of acts especially of a practical or mechanical nature involved in a particular form of work

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

operation; procedure

Context example:

certain machine tool operations

Hypernyms ("procedure" is a kind of...):

work (activity directed toward making or doing something)

Derivation:

procedural (of or relating to procedure)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A set sequence of steps, part of larger computer program

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

function; procedure; routine; subprogram; subroutine

Hypernyms ("procedure" is a kind of...):

computer software; package; software; software package; software program; software system ((computer science) written programs or procedures or rules and associated documentation pertaining to the operation of a computer system and that are stored in read/write memory)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "procedure"):

service routine; utility routine (a routine that can be used as needed)

tracing routine (a routine that provides a chronological record of the execution of a computer program)

executive routine; supervisory routine (a routine that coordinates the operation of subroutines)

reusable routine (a routine that can be loaded once and executed repeatedly)

recursive routine (a routine that can call itself)

random number generator (a routine designed to yield a random number)

library routine (a debugged routine that is maintained in a program library)

contingency procedure (an alternative to the normal procedure; triggered if an unusual but anticipated situation arises)

cataloged procedure (a set of control statements that have been placed in a library and can be retrieved by name)

Holonyms ("procedure" is a part of...):

computer program; computer programme; program; programme ((computer science) a sequence of instructions that a computer can interpret and execute)

Derivation:

procedural (of or relating to procedure)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A mode of conducting legal and parliamentary proceedings

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("procedure" is a kind of...):

legal proceeding; proceeding; proceedings ((law) the institution of a sequence of steps by which legal judgments are invoked)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "procedure"):

objection ((law) a procedure whereby a party to a suit says that a particular line of questioning or a particular witness or a piece of evidence or other matter is improper and should not be continued and asks the court to rule on its impropriety or illegality)

bureaucratic procedure; red tape (needlessly time-consuming procedure)

Derivation:

procedural (relating to court practice and procedure as opposed to the principles of law)

procedural (of or relating to procedure)

 Context examples 

A coded value specifying a means, manner of procedure, or systematic course of actions that have to be performed in order to accomplish a particular goal.

(Method Code, NCI Thesaurus)

A means, manner of procedure, or systematic course of actions that have to be performed in order to accomplish a particular goal.

(Method, NCI Thesaurus)

This was compared to results obtained using the standard two-step testing procedure.

(Scientists work toward a rapid point-of-care diagnostic test for Lyme disease, National Institutes of Health)

Moderate sedation is caused by special drugs and is used to help relieve anxiety during certain medical or surgical procedures.

(Moderate sedation, NCI Dictionary)

If you have been longing for a baby, this month—along with the first three weeks of January—is ideal to start trying to conceive or to have an in-vitro procedure.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Refers to the practices and procedures used for the prevention, treatment, or relief of symptoms of a diseases or abnormal conditions.

(Medicine, NCI Dictionary)

A radiographic procedure to form an image of the abdomen.

(Abdominal Radiography, NCI Thesaurus)

EXAMPLE(S): surgical procedure, laboratory test, administration of a drug.

(Activity, NCI Thesaurus/BRIDG)

A characteristic used to qualify the determination of whether an adverse event is related to medical product or procedure.

(Adverse Event Attribution Category, NCI Thesaurus)

A specific identifiable level (defined qualitatively or quantitatively) of probability of adverse event being caused or associated with the product or procedure administration to a patient.

(Adverse Event Attribution to Product or Procedure, NCI Thesaurus)