reduce

American  

[ri-doos, -dyoos] / rɪˈdus, -ˈdjus /

verb (used with object)

• reduces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reduced,
  past participle,  past
• reducing
  present participle

1. 

   to bring down to a smaller extent, size, amount, number, etc..

   to reduce one's weight by 10 pounds.

   Synonyms:

   abate, attenuate, lessen, retrench, contract, curtail, abridge, shorten, decrease, diminish

   Antonyms:

   increase

2. to lower in degree, intensity, etc..

   to reduce the speed of a car.

   Synonyms:

   abate, attenuate, lessen

3. to bring down to a lower rank, dignity, etc..

   a sergeant reduced to a corporal

   Synonyms:

   humble, demote, degrade

   Antonyms:

   exalt, elevate

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.

   Synonyms:

   overpower, overcome, vanquish, subject, conquer, subjugate, subdue

8. Cooking. 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.

    1. to add electrons to.

    2. to deoxidize.

    3. to add hydrogen to.

    4. 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.

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verb (used without object)

• reduces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reduced,
  past participle,  past
• reducing
  present participle

1. to become reduced.

2. to become lessened, especially in weight.

3. to be turned into or made to equal something.

   All our difficulties reduce to financial problems.

4. Cell Biology. to undergo meiosis.

reduce British  

/ rɪˈdjuːs /

verb

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

    1. to undergo or cause to undergo a chemical reaction with hydrogen or formation of a hydride

    2. to lose or cause to lose oxygen atoms

    3. to undergo or cause to undergo an increase in the number of electrons Compare oxidize

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reducibility
  noun
• overreduce
  verb
• antireducing
  adjective
• nonreducing
  adjective
• reducible
  adjective
• reducibly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• reducing
  present
• reduced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• reduce
  simple
• reduces
  simple
• have reduced
  perfect
• has reduced
  perfect
• am reducing
  progressive
• are reducing
  progressive
• is reducing
  progressive
• have been reducing
  perfect progressive
• has been reducing
  perfect progressive

Past

• reduced
  simple
• had reduced
  perfect
• was reducing
  progressive
• were reducing
  progressive
• had been reducing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will reduce
  simple
• will have reduced
  perfect
• will be reducing
  progressive
• will have been reducing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of reduce

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English reducen “to lead back,” from Latin redūcere “to lead back, bring back,” equivalent to re- re- + dūcere “to lead”

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Explanation

You reduce something when you lessen its volume, size, or degree. That's why we say when someone goes on a diet, it's because they want to reduce; it's a polite way of suggesting they need to drop pounds and become a smaller size. The word reduce first appeared in Old French during the 14th Century, when it meant "bring back." From the Latin re, which meant "back," coupled with ducere, meaning "bring or lead" — we ended up with reduce. The current meaning, "to lessen," appeared in the late 1700's, drawn from the word's military use, "reduce to ranks," which meant break into smaller units. Cooks use the word reduce when they reduce a liquid, boiling it down until it has less volume and is thicker.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reduce reduces reduced reducing

Leiters reached a union deal to cut around 9,000 jobs by 2035, reduce work-from-home days and link annual bonuses to financial performance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

"Plaid Cymru is clear that doing nothing isn't an option... the action we're considering could reduce traffic by 10% in just four years," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

The researchers found that exercise activates regulatory proteins that reduce DEAF1 levels.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Washington has spent years trying to reduce its allies’ dependence on Chinese technology in these sectors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

I made a point of eating so fast I never kept the other people waiting who generally ordered only chef's salad and grapefruit juice because they were trying to reduce.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

The Duo also has a nanotexture finish, which reduces glare and helps hide the crease, a detail which analysts expect will matter to consumers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

However, it also reduces the buffer against future disruptions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

But it could be due to the fact that massage reduces muscle stiffness, improves circulation and boosts relaxation.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

"The erosion of the forest, both in size and in number of species, reduces the space available for communities and fuels conflicts," the lawyer added.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

“Well. I think it could happen. Certainly it hasn’t happened yet. I’m not worried. More likely it would be a virus that reduces us by some per-=fr® centage. By thirty percent. By ninety percent.”

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

Your Social Security benefit at 64 would be reduced by 20% compared with your FRA.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

Bass pushed for a bill in the state Legislature that would have reduced taxes on apartment buildings but ended up withdrawing it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

This reduced human error and helped ensure key tasks were completed.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

After the correction in gold prices in 2Q, margins were pressured by around 6 tons of inventory, but management has since reduced inventory targets to 15 days each for finished goods and raw materials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Leah reduced their public hours to ease their workload, 3–5 p.m. and 8–10 p.m. only.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

It praised “artificial intelligence and machine translation” as “cost-effective methods for bridging language barriers and reducing inefficiencies with the translation process,” and called for phasing out “unnecessary multilingual offerings.”

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

"Increased diesel prices will raise our operating costs, reducing margins on jobs and making it more difficult to absorb costs without passing some of them on to our customers".

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Better-performing materials could improve the efficiency of batteries, solar panels and other equipment, reducing the cost of low-carbon technology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Thick haze turned the skies in Indonesia's Palangkaraya apocalyptic shades of yellow and orange on Thursday, reducing visibility to a few dozen metres as wildfires cause a regional air pollution crisis.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Before I could plot a logical course through the icefall, the wind came up, and snow began to slant hard out of the clouds, stinging my face and reducing visibility to almost nothing.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

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Related Words

• curtail
• cut
• cut down
• diminish
• dwindle
• knock off
• lessen
• lower
• pare
• scale down
• shorten
• slash
• trim
• weaken

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