Nearby Words
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.
EXPANDto 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.
COLLAPSEPhonetics. 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.
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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Reducing
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Origin:
1325–75; Middle English reducen to lead back < Latin redūcere to lead back, bring back, equivalent to re- re- + dūcere to lead
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.
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.
1. increase. 3. elevate, exalt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To reducing
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.;
EXPANDreductionism in philosophy is recorded from 1948.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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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.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
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