Looking for the meaning of the word REDUCE in English for both noun and verb forms from the Oxford Dictionary? Below, you can explore all possible meanings and definitions of REDUCE with sentence examples. You can also use the “AUDIO PRONUNCIATION” track to check the correct pronunciation in British English.
Word: Reduce
Speech Type: Verb
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)
rɪˈdjuːs
make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size
Short Definition:make smaller or less in amount or size
Examples:- the need for businesses to reduce costs
- the workforce has been reduced to some 6,100
bring someone or something to (a worse or less desirable state or condition)
Short Definition:bring person or thing to
Examples:- she has been reduced to near poverty
- the church was reduced to rubble
change a substance to (a different or more basic form)
Short Definition:change substance to
Examples:- it is difficult to understand how lava could have been reduced to dust
cause to combine chemically with hydrogen
Short Definition:cause to combine chemically with hydrogen
Examples:- hydrogen for reducing the carbon dioxide
restore (a dislocated part of the body) to its proper position by manipulation or surgery
Short Definition:restore dislocated part of body to its proper position by manipulation or surgery
Examples:- Joe's reducing a dislocated thumb
besiege and capture (a town or fortress).
Short Definition:besiege and capture
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