reduce
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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to lower in degree, intensity, etc..
to reduce the speed of a car.
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to bring down to a lower rank, dignity, etc..
a sergeant reduced to a corporal
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to treat analytically, as a complex idea.
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to lower in price.
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to bring to a certain state, condition, arrangement, etc..
to reduce glass to powder.
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to bring under control or authority.
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Cooking. to evaporate water from (a sauce, soup, or other liquid), usually by boiling.
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Photography. to lessen the density of (an exposed negative).
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to adjust or correct by making allowances, as an astronomical observation.
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Mathematics. to change the denomination or form, but not the value, of (a fraction, polynomial, etc.).
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Chemistry.
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to add electrons to.
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to deoxidize.
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to add hydrogen to.
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to change (a compound) so that the valence of the positive element is lower.
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Chemistry, Metallurgy. to bring into the metallic state by separating from nonmetallic constituents.
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to thin or dilute.
to reduce paint with oil or turpentine.
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to lower the alcoholic concentration of (spirits) by diluting with water.
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Surgery. to restore to the normal place, relation, or condition, as a fractured bone.
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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.
verb (used without object)
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to become reduced.
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to become lessened, especially in weight.
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to be turned into or made to equal something.
All our difficulties reduce to financial problems.
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Cell Biology. to undergo meiosis.
verb
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(also intr) to make or become smaller in size, number, extent, degree, intensity, etc
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to bring into a certain state, condition, etc
to reduce a forest to ashes
to reduce someone to despair
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(also intr) to make or become slimmer; lose or cause to lose excess weight
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to impoverish (esp in the phrase in reduced circumstances )
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to bring into a state of submission to one's authority; subjugate
the whole country was reduced after three months
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to bring down the price of (a commodity)
the shirt was reduced in the sale
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to lower the rank or status of; demote
he was reduced from corporal to private
reduced to the ranks
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to set out systematically as an aid to understanding; simplify
his theories have been reduced in a popular treatise
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maths to modify or simplify the form of (an expression or equation), esp by substitution of one term by another
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cookery to make (a sauce, stock, etc) more concentrated by boiling away some of the water in it
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to thin out (paint) by adding oil, turpentine, etc; dilute
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(also intr) chem
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to undergo or cause to undergo a chemical reaction with hydrogen or formation of a hydride
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to lose or cause to lose oxygen atoms
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to undergo or cause to undergo an increase in the number of electrons Compare oxidize
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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
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surgery to manipulate or reposition (a broken or displaced bone, organ, or part) back to its normal site
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(also intr) biology to undergo or cause to undergo meiosis
Other Word Forms
- antireducing adjective
- nonreducing adjective
- overreduce verb
- reducibility noun
- reducible adjective
- reducibly adverb
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”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Cancer cells release small extracellular vesicles containing PD-L1, which are thought to reduce the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy. However, how PD-L1 is sorted into these vesicles has remained unclear."
From Science Daily
As retailers face higher costs from tariffs, they also face reduced advertising spending on platforms such as Pinterest.
From Los Angeles Times
But it would also keep the peace, making it harder for ICE to escalate conflicts with the community, while reducing feelings of frustration for activists.
From Salon
Sheikh Mohammed emphasised Qatar's support for "all efforts aimed at reducing escalation and achieving peaceful solutions in a manner that enhances security and stability in the region", the Qatari foreign ministry said.
From Barron's
It also reduces real returns for foreign investors, who collectively hold more than $47 trillion in U.S. assets.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
