reduce
- 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.
- 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).
- to adjust or correct by making allowances, as an astronomical observation.
- Mathematics. to change the denomination or form, but not the value, of (a fraction, polynomial, etc.).
- 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.
- Chemistry, Metallurgy. to bring into the metallic state by separating from nonmetallic constituents.
- to thin or dilute: to reduce paint with oil or turpentine.
- to lower the alcoholic concentration of (spirits) by diluting with water.
- Surgery. to restore to the normal place, relation, or condition, as a fractured bone.
- 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.
- to become reduced.
- to become lessened, especially in weight.
- to be turned into or made to equal something: All our difficulties reduce to financial problems.
- Cell Biology. to undergo meiosis.
Origin of reduce
Synonyms for reduce
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms for reduce
Related Words for reduce
trim, lower, cut, dwindle, shorten, lessen, pare, slash, diminish, curtail, weaken, bring, force, undermine, shave, dilute, clip, abridge, slim, impairExamples from the Web for reduce
Contemporary Examples of reduce
Having a criminal record can reduce the likelihood of getting a callback or job offer by 50 percent.
We kind of reduce things to the lowest common denominator, in some ways for good and in some ways not for good.
Like background check laws across the country, it will help keep guns out of dangerous hands, reduce gun crime, and save lives.
The studio took him at his word and jumped at the chance to close down, or at least reduce, his costly operation.
But mayors generally favor ways to reduce political heat with independent probes.
Historical Examples of reduce
My plan was to reduce each man's ration of flower from 7lbs.
"While you're reducing the size of it you might also reduce the pain in it," said Dick.
The Rock of ChickamaugaJoseph A. Altsheler
The action of the soul is to reduce fear to simple prudence.
Initiation into PhilosophyEmile Faguet
Then add three tablespoonsful of vinegar and reduce the sauce.
The Cook's Decameron: A Study in Taste:Mrs. W. G. Waters
Skim the stock and reduce it to a glaze to cover the sweetbreads.
The Cook's Decameron: A Study in Taste:Mrs. W. G. Waters
reduce
- (also intr) to make or become smaller in size, number, extent, degree, intensity, etc
- to bring into a certain state, condition, etcto reduce a forest to ashes; to reduce someone to despair
- (also intr) to make or become slimmer; lose or cause to lose excess weight
- to impoverish (esp in the phrase in reduced circumstances)
- to bring into a state of submission to one's authority; subjugatethe whole country was reduced after three months
- to bring down the price of (a commodity)the shirt was reduced in the sale
- to lower the rank or status of; demotehe was reduced from corporal to private; reduced to the ranks
- to set out systematically as an aid to understanding; simplifyhis theories have been reduced in a popular treatise
- maths to modify or simplify the form of (an expression or equation), esp by substitution of one term by another
- cookery to make (a sauce, stock, etc) more concentrated by boiling away some of the water in it
- to thin out (paint) by adding oil, turpentine, etc; dilute
- (also intr) chem
- to undergo or cause to undergo a chemical reaction with hydrogen or formation of a hydride
- to lose or cause to lose oxygen atoms
- to undergo or cause to undergo an increase in the number of electronsCompare oxidize
- 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
- surgery to manipulate or reposition (a broken or displaced bone, organ, or part) back to its normal site
- (also intr) biology to undergo or cause to undergo meiosis
Word Origin for reduce
Word Origin and History for reduce
late 14c., "bring back," from Old French reducer (14c.), from Latin reducere "lead back, bring back," figuratively "restore, replace," from re- "back" (see re-) + ducere "bring, lead" (see duke (n.)). Meaning "bring to an inferior condition" is 1570s; that of "bring to a lower rank" is 1640s (military reduce to ranks is from 1802); that of "subdue by force of arms" is 1610s. Sense of "to lower, diminish, lessen" is from 1787. Related: Reduced; reducing.
reduce
(rĭ-dōōs′)- 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.