Definition of Reduce

Verb

• take off weight
  - melt off - lose weight slim slenderize thin - slim down
• lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture
  "cut bourbon"
  dilute thin - thin out cut
• cook until very little liquid is left
  "The cook reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time"
  - boil down concentrate
• be cooked until very little liquid is left
  "The sauce should reduce to one cup"
  - boil down decoct concentrate
• reduce in scope while retaining essential elements
  "The manuscript must be shortened"
  abridge foreshorten abbreviate shorten cut contract
• destress and thus weaken a sound when pronouncing it
  
• reposition (a broken bone after surgery) back to its normal site
  
• undergo meiosis
  "The cells reduce"
  
• 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"
  repress quash - keep down subdue subjugate
• narrow or limit
  "reduce the influx of foreigners"
  tighten
• 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
  deoxidize deoxidise
• make smaller
  "reduce an image"
  - scale down
• lessen and make more modest
  "reduce one's standard of living"
  
• reduce in size
  reduce physically
  "Hot water will shrink the sweater"
  "Can you shrink this image?"
  shrink
• be the essential element
  "The proposal boils down to a compromise"
  - come down - boil down
• lower in grade or rank or force somebody into an undignified situation
  "She reduced her niece to a servant"
  
• simplify the form of a mathematical equation of expression by substituting one term for another
  
• bring to humbler or weaker state or condition
  "He reduced the population to slavery"
  
• make less complex
  "reduce a problem to a single question"
  
• cut down on
  make a reduction in
  "reduce your daily fat intake"
  "The employer wants to cut back health benefits"
  - cut down - cut back trim - trim down - trim back cut - bring down

• Scrabble® score of the reduce (9)
• Word Chums® score of the reduce (13)
• Words With Friends® score of the reduce (11)