reduce
to bring down to a smaller extent, size, amount, number, etc.: to reduce one's weight by 10 pounds.
to lower in degree, intensity, etc.: to reduce the speed of a car.
to bring down to a lower rank, dignity, etc.: a sergeant reduced to a corporal
to treat analytically, as a complex idea.
to lower in price.
to bring to a certain state, condition, arrangement, etc.: to reduce glass to powder.
to bring under control or authority.
Cooking. to evaporate water from (a sauce, soup, or other liquid), usually by boiling.
Photography. to lessen the density of (an exposed negative).
to adjust or correct by making allowances, as an astronomical observation.
Mathematics. to change the denomination or form, but not the value, of (a fraction, polynomial, etc.).
Chemistry.
to add electrons to.
to deoxidize.
to add hydrogen to.
to change (a compound) so that the valence of the positive element is lower.
Chemistry, Metallurgy. to bring into the metallic state by separating from nonmetallic constituents.
to thin or dilute: to reduce paint with oil or turpentine.
to lower the alcoholic concentration of (spirits) by diluting with water.
Surgery. to restore to the normal place, relation, or condition, as a fractured bone.
Phonetics. to modify the quality of (a speech sound) to one of lesser distinctiveness, especially to pronounce (an unstressed vowel) as (ə) or another centralized vowel, as in the unstressed syllables of medicinal.
to become reduced.
to become lessened, especially in weight.
to be turned into or made to equal something: All our difficulties reduce to financial problems.
Cell Biology. to undergo meiosis.
Origin of reduce
1Other words for reduce
Opposites for reduce
Other words from reduce
- an·ti·re·duc·ing, adjective, noun
- non·re·duc·ing, adjective
- o·ver·re·duce, verb, o·ver·re·duced, o·ver·re·duc·ing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use reduce in a sentence
It means answering the question in a way that reduces it to the importance it deserves.
How Red-State Democrats Can Throw Obama Under the Bus | Michael Tomasky | October 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTGoing higher just reduces the time you have to enjoy that view.
Sky Wars: Richard Branson’s Rival in the Great Space Race | Tom Sykes | October 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“This reduces a potential drag to the economy and will bolster growth for the remainder of 2014,” Handler notes.
The U.S. Economy Had a Hiccup, Not a Heart Attack, This Year | Daniel Gross | May 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI said that power ultimately reduces to violence, and it does.
Beau Willimon on Most Shocking Twists in ‘House of Cards’ Season 2 | Andrew Romano | February 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt also reduces nuisance, so there is less trouble in the neighborhood.
Why Everyone Should Copy Amsterdam’s Beer-for-Work Scheme | Nadette De Visser | January 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
A man may feel very brave indeed with his boots on, but take away his clothes and it considerably reduces his courage.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume II (of 3) | Charles James WillsThe invader who reduces a nation to anarchy, and then suffers from the disorder he creates, always calls his opponents brigands.
Thus a domestic state reduces the growth of the animal at least one third, not only in height but in all other dimensions.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de BuffonThe use of hot water not only reduces the swelling, but also helps to destroy the poison.
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron) | William Anderson SymePut the ducks to keep warm before the fire whilst the sauce 'reduces.'
Dressed Game and Poultry la Mode | Harriet A. de Salis
British Dictionary definitions for reduce
/ (rɪˈdjuːs) /
(also intr) to make or become smaller in size, number, extent, degree, intensity, etc
to bring into a certain state, condition, etc: to reduce a forest to ashes; to reduce someone to despair
(also intr) to make or become slimmer; lose or cause to lose excess weight
to impoverish (esp in the phrase in reduced circumstances)
to bring into a state of submission to one's authority; subjugate: the whole country was reduced after three months
to bring down the price of (a commodity): the shirt was reduced in the sale
to lower the rank or status of; demote: he was reduced from corporal to private; reduced to the ranks
to set out systematically as an aid to understanding; simplify: his theories have been reduced in a popular treatise
maths to modify or simplify the form of (an expression or equation), esp by substitution of one term by another
cookery to make (a sauce, stock, etc) more concentrated by boiling away some of the water in it
to thin out (paint) by adding oil, turpentine, etc; dilute
(also intr) chem
to undergo or cause to undergo a chemical reaction with hydrogen or formation of a hydride
to lose or cause to lose oxygen atoms
to undergo or cause to undergo an increase in the number of electrons: Compare oxidize
photog to lessen the density of (a negative or print) by converting some of the blackened silver in the emulsion to soluble silver compounds by an oxidation process using a photographic reducer
surgery to manipulate or reposition (a broken or displaced bone, organ, or part) back to its normal site
(also intr) biology to undergo or cause to undergo meiosis
Origin of reduce
1Derived forms of reduce
- reducible, adjective
- reducibility, noun
- reducibly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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