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

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”

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

One such strategy, direct indexing, involves buying individual securities that track the performance of an index while also generating losses that can be used to reduce capital-gains taxes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Carney said Saturday that his government had made the decision to impose tariffs of its own “reluctantly, because we recognize that it will raise costs and reduce choice for Canadians.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

The Texas appeals court said state law required it to substantially reduce the punitive portion of the Heslin-Lewis award, despite rejecting other arguments Jones made challenging the verdict.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

Regular activity can also help regulate appetite and blood glucose, which may help reduce cravings and limit overeating.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

Stammerers act invisible to reduce the chances of being made to say something we can't.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

The Panama Canal greatly reduces the time and distance ships have to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Notice that over all three forecast horizons the Fed Model reduces explanatory power.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

Maintaining a strong, healthy balance system when you’re younger as well reduces the risk of falls later in life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

"Abdominal obesity reduces circulating vitamin D, and that deficiency impairs the immune system, exacerbating the chronic inflammation caused by excess fat and drastically increasing the risk of mortality," Alexandre explains to Agência FAPESP.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

That reduces the stress on the animals from too much heat.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

But the court reduced the $45.2 million in punitive damages awarded by a jury to $1.5 million, citing limits under Texas law.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

China’s widespread adoption of electric vehicles has reduced domestic demand for fuel oil.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

Several immunosuppressed groups were more likely to show reduced responses to COVID-19 vaccination.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

The North Korea leader's sister also dismissed the importance of the war games being reduced, calling the move "completely uninteresting".

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

The limbs, the torso, the head, everything melted, and in a flash, our robot was reduced to a puddle.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

But reducing or omitting speech from a movie’s audio tracks forces viewers to give the screen their full attention, which Netflix and other streaming services assume is a lost cause in the second-screen era.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

Then again, Walmart reportedly said it will start reducing prices.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

Researchers at McMaster University have uncovered an unexpected role for a naturally occurring hormone already known for reducing appetite and supporting weight loss.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

The company expects to use about $600 million of the proceeds to repay debt, helping it reach its target of reducing net leverage below 2.0 times by Sept. 30, 2027.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Because harsh sentencing is a major cause of the prison explosion, one might reasonably assume that substantially reducing the length of prison sentences would effectively dismantle this new system of control.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

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