v.
- make or become smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.
▸boil (a sauce or other liquid) so that it becomes thicker and more concentrated.
▸chiefly N. Amer. (of a person) lose weight.
▸Photography make (a negative or print) less dense.
-
(reduce someone/thing to)
bring someone or something by force or necessity to (an undesirable state or action).
▸
(reduce someone to)
make someone helpless with (shock, anguish, or amusement).
-
(reduce something to)
change something to (a simpler or more basic form).
▸convert a fraction to (the form with the lowest terms).
- Chemistry cause to combine chemically with hydrogen.
▸undergo or cause to undergo a reaction in which electrons are gained from another substance or molecule. The opposite of oxidize.
- restore (a dislocated body part) to its proper position.
- archaic besiege and capture (a town or fortress).
Phrase
- reduced circumstances
poverty after relative prosperity. - reduce someone to the ranks
demote a non-commissioned officer to an ordinary soldier.
Derivative
- reducer n.
- reducibility n.
- reducible adj.
Etymology
ME (orig. ‘restore’, hence ‘bring to a different state’ and ‘bring to a simpler or lower state’): from L. reducere, from re- ‘back, again’ + ducere ‘bring, lead’.