step down vs vacate

step down and vacate both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
step down	No	No	Yes	No
vacate	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, vacate is a hyponym of step down; that is, vacate is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than step down:

Other hyponyms of step down include give up, renounce, resign, retire, top out, fall.

step down (verb)	vacate (verb)
reduce the level or intensity or size or scope of	cancel officially
give up or retire from a position	leave behind empty; move out of
	leave (a job, post, or position) voluntarily