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reduce

[ri-doos, -dyoos]

Example Sentences Origin

verb (used with object)

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.

EXPAND

to bring to a certain state, condition, arrangement, etc.: to reduce glass to powder.

to bring under control or authority.

Cookery. to evaporate water from (a sauce, soup, or other liquid), usually by boiling.

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.

to add electrons to.

to deoxidize.

to add hydrogen to.

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, especially to pronounce (an unstressed vowel) as (ə) or another centralized vowel, as in the unstressed syllables of medicinal.

COLLAPSE

verb (used without object)

18.

to become reduced.

19.

to become lessened, especially 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.

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Reduce is always a great word to know.

So is breadstick. Does it mean:

a slender, sticklike piece of crisp bread, served with soups or salads

fried eggs turned over when nearly done and fried briefly on the reverse side so that the yolk remains somewhat liquid but hard on top.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Origin:
1325–75; Middle English reducen to lead back < Latin redūcere to lead back, bring back, equivalent to re- re- + dūcere to lead

Related forms

an·ti·re·duc·ing, adjective, noun

non·re·duc·ing, adjective

o·ver·re·duce, verb, -duced, -duc·ing.

Synonyms
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.

Antonyms
1. increase. 3. elevate, exalt.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To reduce

Example Sentences

But some experts argue that single-option penalties could reduce already low reporting levels of the incidents.

Tough rules on mortgages have made it hard to reduce unpayable household debt.

Although the industry debates environmental and energy benefits, bans and taxes to reduce plastic bag use have swept the world.

EXPAND

But some experts argue that single-option penalties could reduce already low reporting levels of the incidents.

Tough rules on mortgages have made it hard to reduce unpayable household debt.

Although the industry debates environmental and energy benefits, bans and taxes to reduce plastic bag use have swept the world.

If it's possible to dramatically reduce men's risk, then automatically the risk to women is reduced as much.

You'd reduce water use and end runoff by recycling water in a closed irrigation system.

Skylights help reduce overall lighting costs by bringing natural daylight from above into the home.

The drive to cap usage is ostensibly a way to reduce costs.

Reduce the equities portion and increase the bond if you are skittish or near retirement.

America is far less inclined than many of its rich-world peers to use taxation and redistribution to reduce inequality.

Slay the energy vampire to reduce your household electricity consumption.

We need to utilize everything in out power to reduce our dependence on foreign oil including using our own natural resources.

Such details help design improved strategies to reduce bird strikes.

Studies suggest that they may help reduce the risk of heart disease.

Running barefoot may reduce your risk of injury, some say.

As a result, there is simply no way to reduce to zero the risk of a false or misleading reference.

So are steps such as moving more transactions online, to reduce contact with officials.

Every step you take to reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted into the air from vehicles will help reduce acid rain.

Instead the drugs may interfere with the inflammatory pathway in the body, and less inflammation may reduce cardiovascular risk.

Their function is to reduce new animal specimens to skeletons, and at this they are specialists.

To reduce evaporation, water when temperatures are cooler and air is still, usually in the early morning.

To reduce the complexity of their experiments, they often bred close relatives.

So, rather than reduce services, many in the field are being asked to do more with less.

It's a tall order to ask the government to reduce unemployment, especially when it is structural.

Reuse shipping boxes to reduce cardboard consumption.

Most of these drugs are depressants, which can reduce inhibitions by depressing those brain functions first.

Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce heat until simmering.

The couple purchased an inexpensive desk, sawed off the back legs to reduce its footprint, and bolted it to the wall studs.

The case does appear to reduce the amount of radiation your head absorbs, without cutting signal strength.

The only sensible way to cut the deficit is to reduce the military spending.

Turning off the water while you brush your teeth is a simple way to reduce greenhouse gases.

With this simple change, you can drastically reduce the amount of water you use.

It may not prevent all attacks and deaths, but it can seriously help reduce the numbers.

Reduce heat to a simmer and keep jars in water until needed.

Two energy experts cast doubt on hydrogen fuel cells' ability to reduce fuel use and curb carbon dioxide emissions.

So the low-tax option to reduce the national debt is far, far better.

Germany was the first state to adopt the time changes, to reduce artificial lighting and thereby save coal for the war effort.

Successfully scaling up this design could dramatically reduce the inefficiencies in future lithium-ion batteries.

Another way you can reduce lionfish numbers is to catch them in the wild and sell them to aquarists or aquarium lovers.

Reduce the fat in the mixture by combining whole eggs and egg whites.

Now manufacturers are trying to develop tyres that reduce that consumption still further.

Many ways are available to reduce your energy use, but some methods save more power and money than others.

Replacing wood and coal with electricity could help reduce poverty and pollution.

Thousands cross within hours, and souvenir hunters soon reduce the wall to rubble.

The rotating handle helps reduce hand and wrist fatigue.

California must reduce its prisons' overcrowding and cost.

The only way to reduce ocean temperatures is to dramatically reign in our emission of greenhouse gases.

In doing so, males may be able to reduce their neighbors' numbers and alter the power balance between the prides.

Kept moist until seeds sprout, then reduce watering to once or twice weekly.

The only long-term solution to this connected set of problems is to reduce the world's reliance on oil.

Industrialized countries have worked to reduce levels of sulfur dioxide, smog, and smoke in order to improve people's health.

Now, even the dead can do one last thing to reduce their ecological footprint.

If you want to reduce the plant's height and create a bushier form, shear it back by a third to a half.

Another study found that water trading helped to reduce the damage wrought by droughts.

Moving flight times from night to day could reduce air travel's contributions to global warming, a new study suggests.

Nevertheless, it's hard to reduce the stress of mounting a major meal.

Reduce heat and whisk in butter a few pieces at a time making sure sauce does not boil.

The new programmes are mostly intended to reduce alcohol, marijuana and tobacco use, and are evaluated in those terms.

Click on the areas below to take action to reduce your levels of consumption.

To reduce food sources for ants, keep aphid and whitefly populations under control.

We don't need ruinous short-term attempts to reduce the deficit that will plunge the economy into a double-dip recession.

Combine your errands, car pool to work, or take public transportation to reduce both your energy and water use.

Locals can also drop off their gently used furniture to reduce and recycle and give quality pieces a second life in a new home.

They might therefore reduce even correctly-measured growth if set too high.

Provide incentives for farming business to reduce the use of pesticides.

These products reduce the impact of logging by blending plastic with wood fiber.

Meanwhile, more efficient vehicles would reduce the cost of long commutes, potentially making the situation worse.

Sharing books is a great way to reduce waste and reuse materials.

Add juices, lime leaves, and kumquats and reduce by half.

The nonprofit hopes this practice will reduce destruction of mangrove forests, which protect coasts from erosion.

When leaves begin to yellow and wilt in fall, gradually reduce watering and stop fertilizing.

Improvements in modern home-building methods are helping to reduce the impact humans have on the environment.

Natural enemies reduce the loopers population but may not provide adequate control at certain times of the year.

He helped the group develop new air quality guidelines that set out global goals to reduce deaths from pollution.

Handpicking is an effective way to reduce adult populations.

The space agency has sought to reduce debris created at liftoff and to detect any damage before reentry.

Then reduce heat so bubbles that form on pan bottom only pop to the surface occasionally.

As a result, officials often take steps to reduce elephant numbers through controlled hunts and other measures.

When water resumes boiling, reduce heat to a simmer.

There are many ways to reduce your consumption of electricity and save on your power bills at home.

Also reduce sugar slightly so the whipped mixture firms up at a lower temperature.

Improving your home's energy efficiency helps reduce the cost of your solar energy system.

Keep it on the dry side to reduce vigor, encourage ripening.

If you're not in the market for a new water heater anytime soon, insulate your water pipes to reduce heat loss.

Tip-pinch young growth to induce branching, reduce tendency toward legginess.

Implementing new workplace policies can significantly reduce your office's paper use.

However, your suggestion of scraping off the mold cap before rinsing the seeds would clearly reduce the amount of rinsing needed.

When leaves drop in late winter or early spring, cut stems back to two buds and reduce watering to minimum.

That's bad for commercial growers, who want everything to fruit at once to reduce labor costs.

In addition to pruning, reduce crop by spraying with fruit-control hormones when tiny white flowers appear.

Switching from a power to a reel mower will give a cleaner cut and reduce noise and pollution.

Mist plants frequently to increase humidity and reduce stress.

For big flower clusters, reduce the number of stems.

Prune in winter to shape, encourage weeping habit, or reduce size.

Readers respond to an article about how the government should reduce the trade deficit.

High energy use means high electricity bills, which can reduce the.

The smaller warhead is also supposed to reduce the possibility of collateral damage.

Buyers of new cars will be asked to pay a small additional cost to help reduce traffic deaths.

But to reduce our teaching load is to reduce our income.

Governments can use this cash to reduce other inefficient taxes, thereby cutting the economic costs of carbon abatement.

By absorbing carbon dioxide, forests are thought to help reduce the rate of global warming.

Small and affordable changes can add up to reduce the impact your home has on the environment.

In an effort to reduce energy waste and greenhouse gas emissions, the provisions laid out in.

Treatment that could reduce the risks of spontaneous early births could have a significant impact on public health.

With gasoline prices high again, universities are looking for ways to reduce their long-term reliance on the fuel.

Fortunately there are some relatively simple ways to reduce the energy consumption of a base-station.

New insights into how cells cope with stress could help combat neurological diseases and reduce the ravages of aging.

Gates wants to close a major military command, restrict use of contractors and reduce the number of generals and admirals.

Colleges have been using swap contracts to reduce their borrowing costs and keep their debt.

More responsible fridges might even reduce the number of power cuts and brown-outs.

The program aims to reduce maternal mortality by using text messaging to inform and educate pregnant.

There are large steps and small steps that can be made to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution.

Where you'd normally find bolts, there will be a new kind of welding, which will reduce.

Given the need to reduce budget deficits, governments will be looking to reduce health-care expenditure or increases taxes.

One of the major concerns cited was that trying to reduce the nation's gas emissions could hurt the economy.

Technological advances in agriculture helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the need to convert forests.

To invite in cooling summer breezes, block winter winds, and reduce demand for heat and air.

The larger work force has helped to reduce the amount of dangerous content found on the site, the researchers said.

Create an action list of steps people could take to reduce or reverse the problem.

The first carbon tax to reduce the greenhouse gases from imports comes not between two nations, but between two states.

Perhaps hindlimb running helps to reduce this problem and allow for more efficient breathing to prolong high speed runs.

Engine exhaust is cooled in order to reduce infrared signatures.

They fear that shrinking budgets could reduce the amount of money for graduate-student stipends and.

Debt-for-nature swaps can be useful financial mechanisms for helping countries reduce debt without exploiting the environment.

Drip irrigation offers an excellent way to reduce water use.

The new rolls were inspired by building managers who sought to reduce runouts and labor costs.

The focus of the report is less on causes and more on effects, and what particular geographic areas can do to reduce risk.

From a global perspective, the case for a trade tax to reduce emissions is weak.

The goal was to reduce the consumption of saturated fat, which raises cholesterol levels.

In fact, experts on the physics of baseball say such bats reduce a hitter's power.

Reduce the length of sports seasons and reduce or eliminate nontraditional seasons.

Yet, paradoxically, the same technology that is creating this inequality could also reduce it.

Now researchers have found that further raising levels of the stress hormones in the body can actually reduce a phobic's anxiety.

In fact, among those looking to reduce their consumption of petrol products, the term has an entirely.

Colleges and universities have responded in part by attempting to reduce their largest personnel expense: faculty salaries.

Better efficiency can reduce emissions, but does not solve the indoor-pollution problem.

With the results of the audit, you can reduce energy use and cut.

The new rules will boost fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But if it can reduce injury, back strain and workers' compensation claims, then waste-management companies may see the benefit.

Still, he insisted that the government has every incentive to reduce student-loan defaults.

Growth would presumably reduce the incentive to fight.

Green heating alternatives reduce reliance on nonrenewable.

Rounded, sleek curves on some models serve to reduce drag and improve.

And that will reduce the effectiveness of software filters set up to simply block allxxx names.

It is also possible to reduce the expense of attending professional meetings by volunteering to serve on planning committees.

Neither development nor democracy has served to reduce inequality much.

The first national regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions aim to reduce fuel consumption in vehicles.

Prolonged physical exertion is known to damage muscles, weaken the immune system and reduce mental focus.

We need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, which come from a wide variety of sources.

Energy efficient homes reduce unnecessary energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and demands for nonrenewable resources.

Empowering young women through education will help reduce overpopulation in areas that cannot support it and avoid extremism.

But these new types of climate action do not replace the need to reduce carbon emissions.

Have groups create a list of action steps that people could take to reduce or reverse the problem.

The world is eager for energy alternatives that greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

To reduce both those numbers, you need a well-defined profile.

One obvious way to reduce costs is to keep pay down.

It also urged waste collectors to step up recycling efforts to reduce the amount of bags burned or buried.

The leaves of the upper canopy intercept raindrops and reduce their impact on vegetation and butterflies below.

And on a small scale in your own house if you grow it in dilute urine, you reduce the fertilizer load on the local ecosystem.

Developed countries would also specify an amount by which they mean to reduce their emissions.

As the green movement caught on, many people started looking around their homes for ways to reduce energy consumption.

Redesigning metropolitan areas as bioregional city-states can reduce our human footprint.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

reduce (rɪˈdjuːs)

—vb
1.	(also intr) to make or become smaller in size, number, extent, degree, intensity, etc
2.	to bring into a certain state, condition, etc: to reduce a forest to ashes; to reduce someone to despair
3.	(also intr) to make or become slimmer; lose or cause to lose excess weight
4.	to impoverish (esp in the phrase in reduced circumstances)
5.	to bring into a state of submission to one's authority; subjugate: the whole country was reduced after three months
6.	to bring down the price of (a commodity): the shirt was reduced in the sale
7.	to lower the rank or status of; demote: he was reduced from corporal to private; reduced to the ranks
8.	to set out systematically as an aid to understanding; simplify: his theories have been reduced in a popular treatise
9.	maths to modify or simplify the form of (an expression or equation), esp by substitution of one term by another
10.	cookery to make (a sauce, stock, etc) more concentrated by boiling away some of the water in it
11.	to thin out (paint) by adding oil, turpentine, etc; dilute
12.	(also intr) chem
	a. to undergo or cause to undergo a chemical reaction with hydrogen or formation of a hydride
	b. to lose or cause to lose oxygen atoms
	c. Compare oxidize to undergo or cause to undergo an increase in the number of electrons
13.	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
14.	surgery to manipulate or reposition (a broken or displaced bone, organ, or part) back to its normal site
15.	(also intr) biology to undergo or cause to undergo meiosis

[C14: from Latin redūcere to bring back, from re- + dūcere to lead]

re'ducible

—*adj*

reduci'bility

—n

re'ducibly

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

reduce

late 14c., "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 (1640s). Reduction is attested from late 15c.;

EXPAND

reductionism in philosophy is recorded from 1948.

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

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

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

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

FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

REDUCE definition

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)

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