reduce
verbCA, US /ɹɪˈd(j)us/ · /ɹɪˈd͡ʒuːs/
Etymology From Middle English reducen, from Old French reduire, from Latin redūcō (“reduce”); from re- (“back”) + dūcō (“lead”). See duke, and compare with redoubt.
19 senses
- 1To bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or…
- 2To lose weight.
- 3To bring to an inferior rank; to degrade, to demote.
- 4To humble; to conquer; to subdue; to capture.
- 5To bring to an inferior state or condition.
- 6To be forced by circumstances (into something one…
- 7To decrease the liquid content of (a food) by boiling…
- 8To add electrons / hydrogen or to remove oxygen.
- 9To produce metal from ore by removing nonmetallic…
- 10To simplify an equation or formula without changing its value.
- 11To express the solution of a problem in terms of another…
- 12To convert a syllogism to a clearer or simpler form.
- 13To convert to written form. (Usage note: this verb…
- 14To perform a reduction; to restore a fracture or…
- 15To reform a line or column from (a square).
- 16To strike off the payroll.
- 17To annul by legal means.
- 18To pronounce (a sound or word) with less effort.
- 19To translate (a book, document, etc.).
To bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or intensity of something; to diminish, to lower.
- to reduce weight, speed, heat, expenses, price, personnel etc.
- Becoming more aware of the progress that scientists have made on behavioral fronts can reduce the risk that other natural scientists will resort to mystical agential accounts when they exceed the limits of their own disciplinary training.2012 January 23, Stephen Ledoux, “Behaviorism at 100”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 10 Nov 2013, page 60:
2 more examples
- Most train operators have reduced services with emergency timetables, as they struggle to cope with a rapid increase in staff absences due to the Omicron variant of COVID.2022 January 12, Paul Clifton, “Network News: Emergency timetables as absences surge due to COVID”, in RAIL, number 948, page 6:
- Drivers like the idea of increasing traffic flow and reducing congestion on the portion of I-80 between Davis and West Sacramento.2024 May 17, Orko Manna, “Toll lane project on Interstate 80 between West Sacramento and Davis gets green light”, in KCRA, archived from the original on 22 May 2024:
To lose weight.
To bring to an inferior rank; to degrade, to demote.
- to reduce a sergeant to the ranks
- My father, the eldest son of an ancient but reduced family, left me with little.1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:
4 more examples
- nothing so excellent but a man may falten upon something or other belonging to it whereby to reduce it .1671, John Tillotson, “Sermon II. The Folly of Scoffing at Religion. 2 Pet[er] III. 3.”, in The Works of the Most Reverend Dr. John Tillotson, Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: […], London: […] B. Aylmer, […]; [a]nd W. Rogers, […], published 1696, →OCLC:
- Having reduced their foe to misery beneath their fears.1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […]”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC:
- Hester Prynne was shocked at the condition to which she found the clergyman reduced.1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, chapter 13, in The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC:
- Neither [Jones][…] nor I (in 1966) could conceive of reducing our "science" to the ultimate absurdity of reading Finnish newspapers almost a century and a half old in order to establish "priority."1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page viii:
To humble; to conquer; to subdue; to capture.
- to reduce a province or a fort
To bring to an inferior state or condition.
- to reduce a city to ashes
To be forced by circumstances (into something one considers unworthy).
- reduced to silence
- The press release calls him "the hottest female impressionist in show business today." (One wonders how many more words press agents will have to come up with before they are reduced to actually saying "drag queen.")1983 December 31, “What a Drag”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 24, page 9:
Cooking, Food, Lifestyle To decrease the liquid content of (a food) by boiling much of its water off.
- Serve the oxtails with mustard or a sauce made by reducing the soup, if any is left, to a slightly thick sauce.2011, Edward Behr, James MacGuire, The Art of Eating Cookbook: Essential Recipes from the First 25 Years.:
Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences To add electrons / hydrogen or to remove oxygen.
- Formaldehyde can be reduced to form methanol.
Engineering, Metallurgy, Natural sciences, Physical sciences To produce metal from ore by removing nonmetallic elements in a smelter.
Mathematics, Sciences To simplify an equation or formula without changing its value.
Computer, Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Science, Sciences To express the solution of a problem in terms of another (known) algorithm.
Human sciences, Logic, Mathematics, Philosophy, Sciences To convert a syllogism to a clearer or simpler form.
Law To convert to written form. (Usage note: this verb almost always appears as "reduce to writing".)
- It is important that all business contracts be reduced to writing.
Medicine, Sciences To perform a reduction; to restore a fracture or dislocation to the correct alignment.
Government, Military, Politics, War To reform a line or column from (a square).
Government, Military, Politics, War To strike off the payroll.
To annul by legal means.
Human sciences, Linguistics, Phonetics, Phonology, Sciences To pronounce (a sound or word) with less effort.
- The first vowel of support is reduced to schwa by most English speakers.
Obsolete To translate (a book, document, etc.).
- a book reduced into English
- Derived terms
- beta reduce, bioreduce, cytoreduce, deuteroreduce, photoreduce, reducement, reducer, reduce someone to tears, reducetarian, reducing agent, reducing flame, reducing scale, reducing sugar, reductant, rereduce
- Related terms
- reducible, reductase, reduction, reductive, reducing agent