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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-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

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

And because step-down facilities for longer holds are in short supply, patients often remain in expensive emergency rooms for longer periods or are merely released.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 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 one just described is, moreover, a "step-down" transformer, since it lowers the voltage, to distinguish it from "step-up" transformers, which raise the voltage.

From Marvels of Scientific Invention An Interesting Account in Non-technical Language of the Invention of Guns, Torpedoes, Submarine Mines, Up-to-date Smelting, Freezing, Colour Photography, and many other recent Discoveries of Science by Corbin, Thomas W.

Desai, CTG’s artistic director, said he views Eustis’ decision to step down as a “pass the mantle moment.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

“The people of Clacton deserve better,” Britain’s finance chief, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, said when accepting Farage’s request to step down.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

It is widely expected Sir Keir Starmer will step down as prime minister the day after, to be replaced by Andy Burnham.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

Farage's decision to step down means the investigation by Daniel Greenberg, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, into the Harborne donation is suspended.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

I hurry off the bus at school, bumping into Sean—one of the guys who sits with Edie at lunch—as I step down onto the pavement.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

Related Words

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