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reduce
8 dictionary results for: reduce
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
re·duce       [ri-doos, -dyoos] Pronunciation Key verb, -duced, -duc·ing.
–verb (used with object)
1.to bring down to a smaller extent, size, amount, number, etc.: to reduce one's weight by 10 pounds.
2.to lower in degree, intensity, etc.: to reduce the speed of a car.
3.to bring down to a lower rank, dignity, etc.: a sergeant reduced to a corporal
4.to treat analytically, as a complex idea.
5.to lower in price.
6.to bring to a certain state, condition, arrangement, etc.: to reduce glass to powder.
7.to bring under control or authority.
8.Cookery. to evaporate water from (a sauce, soup, or other liquid), usually by boiling.
9.Photography. to lessen the density of (an exposed negative).
10.to adjust or correct by making allowances, as an astronomical observation.
11.Mathematics. to change the denomination or form, but not the value, of (a fraction, polynomial, etc.).
12.Chemistry.
a.to add electrons to.
b.to deoxidize.
c.to add hydrogen to.
d.to change (a compound) so that the valence of the positive element is lower.
13.Chemistry, Metallurgy. to bring into the metallic state by separating from nonmetallic constituents.
14.to thin or dilute: to reduce paint with oil or turpentine.
15.to lower the alcoholic concentration of (spirits) by diluting with water.
16.Surgery. to restore to the normal place, relation, or condition, as a fractured bone.
17.Phonetics. to modify the quality of (a speech sound) to one of lesser distinctiveness, esp. to pronounce (an unstressed vowel) as (ə) or another centralized vowel, as in the unstressed syllables of medicinal.
–verb (used without object)
18.to become reduced.
19.to become lessened, esp. in weight.
20.to be turned into or made to equal something: All our difficulties reduce to financial problems.
21.Cell Biology. to undergo meiosis.

[Origin: 1325–75; ME reducen to lead back < L redūcere to lead back, bring back, equiv. to re- re- + dūcere to lead]

1. diminish, decrease, shorten, abridge, curtail, contract, retrench. 1, 2. lessen, attenuate, abate. 3. degrade, demote, humble. 7. subdue, subjugate, conquer, subject, vanquish, overcome, overpower.
1. increase. 3. elevate, exalt.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
re·duce       (rĭ-dōōs', -dyōōs')  Pronunciation Key 
v.   re·duced, re·duc·ing, re·duc·es

v.   tr.
  1. To bring down, as in extent, amount, or degree; diminish. See Synonyms at decrease.
  2. To bring to a humbler, weaker, difficult, or forced state or condition; especially:
    1. To gain control of; conquer: "a design to reduce them under absolute despotism" (Declaration of Independence).
    2. To subject to destruction: Enemy bombers reduced the city to rubble.
    3. To weaken bodily: was reduced almost to emaciation.
    4. To sap the spirit or mental energy of.
    5. To compel to desperate acts: The Depression reduced many to begging on street corners.
    6. To lower in rank or grade. See Synonyms at demote.
    7. To powder or pulverize.
    8. To thin (paint) with a solvent.
    9. To decrease the valence of (an atom) by adding electrons.
    10. To remove oxygen from (a compound).
    11. To add hydrogen to (a compound).
    12. To change to a metallic state by removing nonmetallic constituents; smelt.
  3. To lower the price of: The store has drastically reduced winter coats.
  4. To put in order or arrange systematically.
  5. To separate into orderly components by analysis.
  6. Chemistry
    1. To decrease the valence of (an atom) by adding electrons.
    2. To remove oxygen from (a compound).
    3. To add hydrogen to (a compound).
    4. To change to a metallic state by removing nonmetallic constituents; smelt.
  7. Mathematics To simplify the form of (an expression, such as a fraction) without changing the value.
  8. Medicine To restore (a fractured or displaced body part) to a normal condition or position.

v.   intr.
  1. To become diminished.
  2. To lose weight, as by dieting.
  3. Biology To undergo meiosis.


[Middle English reducen, to bring back, from Old French reducier, from Latin redūcere : re-, re- + dūcere, to lead; see deuk- in Indo-European roots.]

re·duc'er n., re·duc'i·bil'i·ty n., re·duc'i·ble adj., re·duc'i·bly adv.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
reduce 
c.1375, "bring back," from O.Fr. reducer (14c.), from L. reducere, from re- "back" + ducere "bring, lead" (see duke). Sense of "to lower, diminish, lessen" is from 1787. Etymological sense preserved in military reduce to ranks (1641). Reduction is attested from 1483; reductionism in philosophy is recorded from 1948.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
reduce

verb
1. cut down on; make a reduction in; "reduce your daily fat intake"; "The employer wants to cut back health benefits" 
2. make less complex; "reduce a problem to a single question" 
3. bring to humbler or weaker state or condition; "He reduced the population to slavery" 
4. simplify the form of a mathematical equation of expression by substituting one term for another 
5. lower in grade or rank or force somebody into an undignified situation; "She reduced her niece to a servant" 
6. be the essential element; "The proposal boils down to a compromise" 
7. reduce in size; reduce physically; "Hot water will shrink the sweater"; "Can you shrink this image?" [syn: shrink
8. lessen and make more modest; "reduce one's standard of living" 
9. make smaller; "reduce an image" [ant: blow up
10. to remove oxygen from a compound, or cause to react with hydrogen or form a hydride, or to undergo an increase in the number of electrons [syn: deoxidize] [ant: oxidate
11. narrow or limit; "reduce the influx of foreigners" 
12. put down by force or intimidation; "The government quashes any attempt of an uprising"; "China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently"; "The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land" [syn: repress
13. undergo meiosis; "The cells reduce" 
14. reposition (a broken bone after surgery) back to its normal site 
15. destress and thus weaken a sound when pronouncing it 
16. reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened" [syn: abridge] [ant: dilate
17. be cooked until very little liquid is left; "The sauce should reduce to one cup" [syn: boil down
18. cook until very little liquid is left; "The cook reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time" 
19. lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture; "cut bourbon" [syn: dilute
20. take off weight [ant: gain

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

reduce re·duce (rĭ-d&oomacr;s', -dy&oomacr;s')
v. re·duced, re·duc·ing, re·duc·es

  1. To bring down, as in extent, amount, or degree; diminish.
  2. To lose weight, as by dieting.
  3. To restore a fractured or displaced body part to a normal condition or position.
  4. To decrease the valence of an atom by adding electrons.
  5. To remove oxygen from a compound.
  6. To add hydrogen to a compound.

re·duc'er n.
re·duc'i·bil'i·ty n.
re·duc'i·ble adj.

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: re·duce
Pronunciation: ri-'düs, -'dyüs
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: re·duced; re·duc·ing
1 : to make smaller
2 a : to convert (a chose in action) into a chose in possession reduce to possession her property interest in the…determination of money damages —Haynes v. Contat, 643 North Eastern Reporter, Second Series 941 (1994)> b : to convert by enforcement through litigation reduce his claim to judgment, foreclose or otherwise enforce the security interest —Uniform Commercial Code> —re·duc·ibil·i·ty /-"dü-s&-'bi-l&-tE, -"dyü-/ nounre·duc·ible /-'dü-s&-b&l, -'dyü-/ adjectivere·duc·ibly adverbre·duc·tion /ri-'d&k-sh&n/ nounreduce to practice : to cause to undergo reduction to practice

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

REDUCE language, mathematics
A symbolic mathematics language with ALGOL-like syntax, written in Lisp by Anthony Hearn in 1963.
Reduce 2 is a version based on Portable Standard LISP.
(http://rrz.uni-koeln.de/REDUCE/).
E-mail: .
Server: reduce-netlib@rand.org.
["REDUCE, Software for Algebraic Computation", G. Rayna, Springer 1987].
(1994-10-31)

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Reduce

Re*duce"\ (r[-e]*d[=u]s"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Reduced (-d[=u]st"),; p. pr. & vb. n. Reducing (-d[=u]"s[i^]ng).] [L. reducere, reductum; pref. red-. re-, re- + ducere to lead. See Duke, and cf. Redoubt, n.]

1. To bring or lead back to any former place or condition. [Obs.]

And to his brother's house reduced his wife. --Chapman.

The sheep must of necessity be scattered, unless the great Shephered of souls oppose, or some of his delegates reduce and direct us. --Evelyn.

2. To bring to any inferior state, with respect to rank, size, quantity, quality, value, etc.; to diminish; to lower; to degrade; to impair; as, to reduce a sergeant to the ranks; to reduce a drawing; to reduce expenses; to reduce the intensity of heat. "An ancient but reduced family." --Sir W. Scott.

Nothing so excellent but a man may fasten upon something belonging to it, to reduce it. --Tillotson.

Having reduced Their foe to misery beneath their fears. --Milton.

Hester Prynne was shocked at the condition to which she found the clergyman reduced. --Hawthorne.

3. To bring to terms; to humble; to conquer; to subdue; to capture; as, to reduce a province or a fort.

4. To bring to a certain state or condition by grinding, pounding, kneading, rubbing, etc.; as, to reduce a substance to powder, or to a pasty mass; to reduce fruit, wood, or paper rags, to pulp.

It were but right And equal to reduce me to my dust. --Milton.

5. To bring into a certain order, arrangement, classification, etc.; to bring under rules or within certain limits of descriptions and terms adapted to use in computation; as, to reduce animals or vegetables to a class or classes; to reduce a series of observations in astronomy; to reduce language to rules.

6. (Arith.) (a) To change, as numbers, from one denomination into another without altering their value, or from one denomination into others of the same value; as, to reduce pounds, shillings, and pence to pence, or to reduce pence to pounds; to reduce days and hours to minutes, or minutes to days and hours. (b) To change the form of a quantity or expression without altering its value; as, to reduce fractions to their lowest terms, to a common denominator, etc.

7. (Chem.) To bring to the metallic state by separating from impurities; hence, in general, to remove oxygen from; to deoxidize; to combine with, or to subject to the action of, hydrogen; as, ferric iron is reduced to ferrous iron; or metals are reduced from their ores; -- opposed to oxidize.

8. (Med.) To restore to its proper place or condition, as a displaced organ or part; as, to reduce a dislocation, a fracture, or a hernia.

Reduced iron (Chem.), metallic iron obtained through deoxidation of an oxide of iron by exposure to a current of hydrogen or other reducing agent. When hydrogen is used the product is called also iron by hydrogen.

To reduce an equation (Alg.), to bring the unknown quantity by itself on one side, and all the known quantities on the other side, without destroying the equation.

To reduce an expression (Alg.), to obtain an equivalent expression of simpler form.

To reduce a square (Mil.), to reform the line or column from the square.

Syn: To diminish; lessen; decrease; abate; shorten; curtail; impair; lower; subject; subdue; subjugate; conquer.

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