reduce

verb

(transitive) To bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or intensity of something; to diminish, to lower.

(intransitive) To lose weight.

(transitive) To bring to an inferior rank; to degrade, to demote.

(transitive) To bring to an inferior state or condition.

(transitive) To humble; to conquer; to subdue; to capture.

(transitive, cooking) To decrease the liquid content of (a food) by boiling much of its water off.

(transitive, mathematics) To simplify an equation or formula without changing its value.

(transitive, computer science) To express the solution of a problem in terms of another (known) algorithm.

(transitive, law) To convert to written form. (Usage note: this verb almost always appears as "reduce to writing".)

(transitive, medicine) To perform a reduction; to restore a fracture or dislocation to the correct alignment.

(transitive, chemistry) To add electrons / hydrogen or to remove oxygen.

(transitive, metallurgy) To produce metal from ore by removing nonmetallic elements in a smelter.

(transitive, logic) To convert a syllogism to a clearer or simpler form.

(transitive, phonetics, phonology) To pronounce (a sound or word) with less effort.

(transitive) To be forced by circumstances (into something one considers unworthy).

(transitive, military) To strike off the payroll.

(transitive, Scots law) To annul by legal means.

(transitive, military) To reform a line or column from (a square).

(transitive, obsolete) To translate (a book, document, etc.).

Roots

rere- · Latin · back duco-duce · Latin · lead

Words related to reduce

deoxidizev shrinkv minimizerv reductionn diminishableadj mitigatoryadj detractiveadj decoctv eliminatev loweringn tightenv lowersv downsizev understatev diminishmentn enhancev minifyv immitigableadj

Synonyms & related words for reduce

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of reduce — including lessen, shorten, slenderize, foreshorten, decrease, minimize. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to reduce

Explore words related to reduce — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include deoxidize, shrink, minimizer, reduction, diminishable, mitigatory, detractive, decoct. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for reduce

Common synonyms for reduce include lessen, shorten, slenderize, foreshorten, decrease, minimize, abridge, diminish — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does reduce come from?

The word reduce breaks down into 2 roots of Latin origin: re-, from Latin re (“back”); and -duce, from Latin duco (“lead”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.