What does "reduce" mean?
To bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or intensity of something; to diminish, to lower.
Reduce
/ɹɪˈd͡ʒuːs/ verb
verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or intensity of something; to diminish, to lower.
- Grammar: reduce is listed as verb.
- Nearest alternatives: deoxidize, shorten, shrink, abase.
- Useful contrasts: biological scale, chemical energy related, elevated.
- Usage evidence: We have considered your proposal, and we have decided that we are not able to reduce the price.
How to use "reduce"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "reduce" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "reduce" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "reduce" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "reduce" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "reduce" is acting as verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "deoxidize" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "reduce", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or intensity of something; to diminish, to lower. transitive
"to reduce weight, speed, heat, expenses, price, personnel etc."
- 2 take off weight wordnet
- 3 To lose weight. intransitive
- 4 lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture wordnet
- 5 To bring to an inferior rank; to degrade, to demote. transitive
"to reduce a sergeant to the ranks"
Show 34 more definitions
- 6 narrow or limit wordnet
- 7 To humble; to conquer; to subdue; to capture. transitive
"to reduce a province or a fort"
- 8 cook until very little liquid is left wordnet
- 9 To bring to an inferior state or condition. transitive
"to reduce a city to ashes"
- 10 be cooked until very little liquid is left wordnet
- 11 To be forced by circumstances (into something one considers unworthy). transitive
"reduced to silence"
- 12 be the essential element wordnet
- 13 To decrease the liquid content of (a food) by boiling much of its water off. transitive
"Serve the oxtails with mustard or a sauce made by reducing the soup, if any is left, to a slightly thick sauce."
- 14 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 wordnet
- 15 To add electrons / hydrogen or to remove oxygen. transitive
"Formaldehyde can be reduced to form methanol."
- 16 make smaller wordnet
- 17 To produce metal from ore by removing nonmetallic elements in a smelter. transitive
- 18 reduce in size; reduce physically wordnet
- 19 To simplify an equation or formula without changing its value. transitive
- 20 make less complex wordnet
- 21 To express the solution of a problem in terms of another (known) algorithm. transitive
- 22 reduce in scope while retaining essential elements wordnet
- 23 To convert a syllogism to a clearer or simpler form. transitive
- 24 cut down on; make a reduction in wordnet
- 25 To convert to written form. (Usage note: this verb almost always appears as "reduce to writing".) transitive
"It is important that all business contracts be reduced to writing."
- 26 destress and thus weaken a sound when pronouncing it wordnet
- 27 To perform a reduction; to restore a fracture or dislocation to the correct alignment. transitive
- 28 reposition (a broken bone after surgery) back to its normal site wordnet
- 29 To reform a line or column from (a square). transitive
- 30 undergo meiosis wordnet
- 31 To strike off the payroll. transitive
- 32 lower in grade or rank or force somebody into an undignified situation wordnet
- 33 To annul by legal means. transitive
- 34 simplify the form of a mathematical equation of expression by substituting one term for another wordnet
- 35 To pronounce (a sound or word) with less effort. transitive
"The first vowel of support is reduced to schwa by most English speakers."
- 36 lessen and make more modest wordnet
- 37 To translate (a book, document, etc.). obsolete, transitive
"a book reduced into English"
- 38 bring to humbler or weaker state or condition wordnet
- 39 put down by force or intimidation wordnet
Example
"We have considered your proposal, and we have decided that we are not able to reduce the price."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "reduce"?
Common synonyms include: deoxidize, shorten, shrink, abase, abash, abate.
How do you use "reduce" in a sentence?
We have considered your proposal, and we have decided that we are not able to reduce the price.
How do you pronounce "reduce"?
Pronounced /ɹɪˈd͡ʒuːs/.
Etymology
From Middle English reducen, from Old French reduire, from Latin redūcō (“reduce”); from re- (“back”) + dūcō (“lead”). See duke, and compare with redoubt.