stepping

verb

Present participle of step

noun

1. The act of taking a step.

2. computingA specific iteration of a model of central processing unit, often distinguished by the addition or removal of features compared to earlier examples of the same processor, or the presence, or lack thereof, of specific bugs.

   “The 80386's early steppings have quite a lot of bugs, so some software specifically tests to make sure that the processor isn't one of those old versions.”