procedure-n; 4 Senses

Sense Number 1: action or sequence

Commentary: PROCEDURE[+event] An action, or a series of actions, intended to produce a specific result. This is probably the most common sense.

Examples:
The strike halted all government procedures for a month.
What's the most effective procedure for writing a term paper?
I brought legal procedures against John after he insulted me.
He underwent a small surgical procedure on his tonsils.
He began the procedure of obtaining a driver's license.
He didn't know the proper procedure for building a house.

Mappings:
PropBank: procedure.01
WordNet 2.0 Sense Numbers: 1 4

Sense Number 2: set of instructions

Commentary: Refers to the set of instructions for an action or series of actions. Clearly not the action itself.

Examples:
Good cops always operate according to procedure.
I wrote the official company procedure for dealing with customer complaints.
I highly recommend that you follow standard operating procedures when using the spinning saw blade.

Mappings:
PropBank: procedure.01
WordNet 2.0 Sense Numbers: 2

Sense Number 3: tiresome action

Commentary: PROCEDURE[+event] A specific kind of action (or series of actions), which is understood to be exhausting and unpleasant.

Examples:
John soon found that building the shelf by hand was quite a procedure.

Mappings:
PropBank: NM
WordNet 2.0 Sense Numbers: -

Sense Number 4: computer program

Commentary: The small set of steps that forms part of a larger computer program.

Examples:
I wrote a small procedure that ends the program after twenty minutes.

Mappings:
PropBank: NM
WordNet 2.0 Sense Numbers: 3