procedure

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A particular method for performing a task.

   “One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city’s effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination.”

2. (countable, uncountable)A series of small tasks or steps taken to accomplish an end.
3. (uncountable)The set of established forms or methods of an organized body for accomplishing a certain task or tasks.

   “Ensure that you follow procedure when accessing customers' personal information.”

4. (countable, uncountable)The steps taken in an action or other legal proceeding.

   “Gracious procedures.”

5. (countable, obsolete, uncountable)That which results; issue; product.

   “There is not any known Substance, but Earth, and the Procedure of Earth (as Tile, Stone, &c.) that yeeldeth any Moss or Herby Substance.”

6. (countable, uncountable)A subroutine or function coded to perform a specific task, but does not return a value.
7. (countable, uncountable)A surgical operation.