reduce

/ri'dju:s/

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The word "reduce" is a verb that means to make something smaller or less in amount, degree, or size. It can be used in various contexts, and here’s an easy guide to understanding it.

Basic Definition

1. To make smaller: This is the most common meaning. For example, if you have a large pizza and you eat some, you reduce the amount of pizza left.
2. To lessen strength or flavor: In cooking, when you "reduce" a sauce, you cook it until some of the liquid evaporates, making it thicker and more flavorful.
3. To lower standards or conditions: When someone reduces their standard of living, they live with less luxury or comfort than before.

Usage Instructions

• Use "reduce" when talking about decreasing something.
• It can be followed by a noun, e.g., "reduce the size," "reduce the cost," or "reduce the risk."

Examples

• Simple Sentence: "I want to reduce my weight by exercising."
• Cooking Example: "The chef reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time."
• Standard of Living: "After losing her job, she had to reduce her spending."

Advanced Usage

• Mathematics: In math, you might "reduce" an equation to make it simpler, like turning a complex fraction into a simpler one.
• Medical Context: In medicine, a doctor might "reduce" a broken bone, meaning to put it back into its correct position after surgery.

Word Variants

• Reduction (noun): The act of reducing something. Example: "There was a reduction in the price of the shoes."
• Reduced (adjective): Made smaller or less. Example: "The reduced price made the shoes affordable."

Different Meanings

• In chemistry, "reduce" can mean to remove oxygen from a compound or to add hydrogen to it.
• In a social context, it can mean to put someone in a less powerful position, e.g., "He was reduced to a mere assistant."

Synonyms

• Decrease
• Lessen
• Diminish
• Lower
• Cut down

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

• Cut down on: This is a phrasal verb that means to reduce the amount of something. Example: "I need to cut down on sugar."
• Scale back: This means to reduce the size or amount of something. Example: "They had to scale back their project due to budget cuts."

Summary

"Reduce" is a versatile verb that can refer to making things smaller or less in various contexts, including physical size, quantity, intensity, and complexity. It is widely used in everyday language, cooking, mathematics, and even in professional settings.

Academic

Verb

1. take off weight
2. lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture
   • cut bourbon
3. cook until very little liquid is left
   • The cook reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time
4. be cooked until very little liquid is left
   • The sauce should reduce to one cup
5. reduce in scope while retaining essential elements
   • The manuscript must be shortened
6. destress and thus weaken a sound when pronouncing it
7. reposition (a broken bone after surgery) back to its normal site
8. undergo meiosis
   • The cells reduce
9. put down by force or intimidation
   • The government quashes any attempt of an uprising
   • China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently
   • The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land
10. narrow or limit
    • reduce the influx of foreigners
11. 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
12. make smaller
    • reduce an image
13. lessen and make more modest
    • reduce one's standard of living
14. reduce in size; reduce physically
    • Hot water will shrink the sweater
    • Can you shrink this image?
15. be the essential element
    • The proposal boils down to a compromise
16. lower in grade or rank or force somebody into an undignified situation
    • She reduced her niece to a servant
17. simplify the form of a mathematical equation of expression by substituting one term for another
18. bring to humbler or weaker state or condition
    • He reduced the population to slavery
19. make less complex
    • reduce a problem to a single question
20. cut down on; make a reduction in
    • reduce your daily fat intake
    • The employer wants to cut back health benefits

Synonyms

• melt off
• lose weight
• slim
• slenderize
• thin
• slim down
• dilute
• thin out
• cut
• boil down
• concentrate
• decoct
• abridge
• foreshorten
• abbreviate
• shorten
• contract
• repress
• quash
• keep down
• subdue
• subjugate
• tighten
• deoxidize
• deoxidise
• scale down
• shrink
• come down
• cut down