reduce
//ɹɪˈd͡ʒuːs//
Forms
- present (v1)
- reduce
- past (v2)
- reduced
- past participle (v3)
- reduced
- present participle
- reducing
- 3rd person singular
- reduces
Definitions
1.To bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or intensity of something; to diminish, to lower.
- Drivers like the idea of increasing traffic flow and reducing congestion on the portion of I-80 between Davis and West Sacramento.
- Most train operators have reduced services with emergency timetables, as they struggle to cope with a rapid increase in staff absences due to the Omicron variant of COVID.
2.To lose weight.
3.To bring to an inferior rank; to degrade, to demote.
- Having reduced their foe to misery beneath their fears.
- My father, the eldest son of an ancient but reduced family, left me with little.
- Hester Prynne was shocked at the condition to which she found the clergyman reduced.
4.To humble; to conquer; to subdue; to capture.
Frequency
Overall
Common· #809
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Common
- Academic
- Uncommon
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Etymology
From Middle English reducen, from Old French reduire, from Latin redūcō (“reduce”); from re- (“back”) + dūcō (“lead”).
See duke, and compare with redoubt.