standard operating procedure
nounUK /ˌstændəd ˈɒpəreɪtɪŋ prəˈsiːdʒə/
US /ˌstændərd ˈɑːpəreɪtɪŋ prəˈsiːdʒər/
A set of steps you follow the same way every time to do a job right.
The teacher wrote a standard operating procedure so every student knows how to clean up the art room.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. An official written document that describes exactly how a task must be done in a company or organization.
New employees must read the standard operating procedure before using the machines.
3. A fixed, expected way of doing things, even in everyday life.
Making his bed every morning was his own standard operating procedure.
4. In science and medicine, a detailed set of steps that keeps tests safe and repeatable.
The lab follows a standard operating procedure for storing blood samples.