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

Conventional step-down converters often struggle when dealing with large differences between input and output voltage.

From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2026

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

From MarketWatch • Mar. 4, 2026

Last year, among a series of funding packages, the NHS was given £200m to create "step-down" wards for those awaiting a care package to start or for home adaptions to be made.

From BBC • Nov. 8, 2023

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

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.

Related Words

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