Meaning of reduce in English

1. Pronunciation

   /rəˈd(j)us/

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1. Verb

   reduce

   Etymology

   late Middle English: from Latin reducere, from re-‘back, again’ + ducere‘bring, lead’. The original sense was ‘bring back’ (hence ‘restore’, now surviving in reduce (sense 5)); this led to ‘bring to a different state’, then ‘bring to a simpler or lower state’ (hence reduce (sense 3)); and finally ‘diminish in size or amount’ (reduce (sense 1), dating from the late 18th century)

   Definitions

   1. cut down on

   Examples

   • « make a reduction in »
   • « reduce your daily fat intake »
   • « The employer wants to cut back health benefits »
2. 2. make less complex

   Examples

   • « reduce a problem to a single question »
3. 3. bring to humbler or weaker state or condition

   Examples

   • « He reduced the population to slavery »
4. 4. simplify the form of a mathematical equation of expression by substituting one term for another
5. 5. lower in grade or rank or force somebody into an undignified situation

   Examples

   • « She reduced her niece to a servant »
6. 6. be the essential element

   Examples

   • « The proposal boils down to a compromise »
7. 7. reduce in size

   Examples

   • « reduce physically »
   • « Hot water will shrink the sweater »
   • « Can you shrink this image? »
8. 8. lessen and make more modest

   Examples

   • « reduce one's standard of living »
9. 9. make smaller

   Examples

   • « reduce an image »

   Antonyms

   • blow up
   • enlarge
   • magnify
10. 10. to remove oxygen from a compound, or cause to react with hydrogen or form a hydride, or to undergo an increase in the number of electrons

    Antonyms

    • oxidize
    • oxidise
    • oxidate
    • oxidize
    • oxidise
    • oxidate
11. 11. narrow or limit

    Examples

    • « reduce the influx of foreigners »
12. 12. put down by force or intimidation

    Examples

    • « The government quashes any attempt of an uprising »
    • « China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently »
    • « The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land »
13. 13. undergo meiosis

    Examples

    • « The cells reduce »
14. 14. reposition (a broken bone after surgery) back to its normal site
15. 15. reduce in scope while retaining essential elements

    Examples

    • « The manuscript must be shortened »

    Antonyms

    • elaborate
    • lucubrate
    • expatiate
    • exposit
    • enlarge
    • flesh out
    • expand
    • expound
    • dilate
16. 16. be cooked until very little liquid is left

    Examples

    • « The sauce should reduce to one cup »
17. 17. cook until very little liquid is left

    Examples

    • « The cook reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time »
18. 18. lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture

    Examples

    • « cut bourbon »
19. 19. take off weight

    Antonyms

    • gain
    • put on