to bring down to a smaller extent, size, amount, number, etc.: to reduce one's weight by 10 pounds.
to lower in degree, intensity, etc.: to reduce the speed of a car.
to bring down to a lower rank, dignity, etc.: a sergeant reduced to a corporal
to treat analytically, as a complex idea.
to lower in price.
to bring to a certain state, condition, arrangement, etc.: to reduce glass to powder.
to bring under control or authority.
Cooking. to evaporate water from (a sauce, soup, or other liquid), usually by boiling.
Photography. to lessen the density of (an exposed negative).
to adjust or correct by making allowances, as an astronomical observation.
Mathematics. to change the denomination or form, but not the value, of (a fraction, polynomial, etc.).
Chemistry.
to add electrons to.
to deoxidize.
to add hydrogen to.
to change (a compound) so that the valence of the positive element is lower.
Chemistry, Metallurgy. to bring into the metallic state by separating from nonmetallic constituents.
to thin or dilute: to reduce paint with oil or turpentine.
to lower the alcoholic concentration of (spirits) by diluting with water.
Surgery. to restore to the normal place, relation, or condition, as a fractured bone.
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.
verb (used without object),re·duced,re·duc·ing.
to become reduced.
to become lessened, especially in weight.
to be turned into or made to equal something: All our difficulties reduce to financial problems.
Cell Biology. to undergo meiosis.
Origin of reduce
1325–75; Middle English reducen to lead back <Latin redūcere to lead back, bring back, equivalent to re-re- + dūcere to lead
Yeah, I mean, as far as Maggie goes, her reducing a church to just “four walls and a roof” says a lot about the character.
‘Walking Dead’ Showrunner Scott Gimple Teases ‘Darker, Weirder’ Times Ahead|Melissa Leon|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It's also become the largest energy producer in the world, even while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Politics End In Halifax As Democratic and GOP Senators Seek Common Ground on National Security|Tim Mak|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now, we talk about reducing the stigma of this disease—yet we've treated a visitor living with it as a threat.
They May Sound Like a Good Idea, But Travel Bans for Ebola Won’t Work|Abby Haglage|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But before the hope of reducing the town by main force was relinquished, it was determined to make a great effort.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
And so it is to-day with the owners of slaves working in the mines; no one dreams of reducing the number of his hands.
On Revenues|Xenophon
The usual means of reducing fresh burned stone lime to a condition that makes even distribution upon land possible is by slaking.
Right Use of Lime in Soil Improvement|Alva Agee
This is the theory, and we have been most successful in reducing it to practice.
Cornelius O'Dowd Upon Men And Women And Other Things In General|Charles Lever
It is a reducing sugar; forms a characteristic osazone; and exhibits mutarotation.
The Chemistry of Plant Life|Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
British Dictionary definitions for reduce
reduce
/ (rɪˈdjuːs) /
verb(mainly tr)
(also intr)to make or become smaller in size, number, extent, degree, intensity, etc
to bring into a certain state, condition, etcto reduce a forest to ashes; to reduce someone to despair
(also intr)to make or become slimmer; lose or cause to lose excess weight
to impoverish (esp in the phrase in reduced circumstances)
to bring into a state of submission to one's authority; subjugatethe whole country was reduced after three months
to bring down the price of (a commodity)the shirt was reduced in the sale
to lower the rank or status of; demotehe was reduced from corporal to private; reduced to the ranks
to set out systematically as an aid to understanding; simplifyhis theories have been reduced in a popular treatise
mathsto modify or simplify the form of (an expression or equation), esp by substitution of one term by another
cookeryto make (a sauce, stock, etc) more concentrated by boiling away some of the water in it
to thin out (paint) by adding oil, turpentine, etc; dilute
(also intr)chem
to undergo or cause to undergo a chemical reaction with hydrogen or formation of a hydride
to lose or cause to lose oxygen atoms
to undergo or cause to undergo an increase in the number of electronsCompare oxidize
photogto 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
surgeryto manipulate or reposition (a broken or displaced bone, organ, or part) back to its normal site
(also intr)biologyto undergo or cause to undergo meiosis