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Synonyms

step-down

American  
[step-doun] / ˈstɛpˌdaʊn /

adjective

Electricity.

  1. serving to reduce or decrease voltage.

    a step-down transformer.
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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. informal a decrease in quantity or size

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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.

Etymology

Origin of step-down

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

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.

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

From MarketWatch • Mar. 4, 2026

The first choice, a step-down facility with enhanced services for those leaving locked care, was quickly ruled out.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2024

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

Central bank meetings loom in Australia and New Zealand next week, and markets have priced a pause for Australia and step-down in pace to a 25 basis point hike for New Zealand.

From Reuters • Mar. 31, 2023

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.

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.