reduce

reduce is one of the 1000 most common headwords.

red - reduce - refer

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA ^(key): /rɪˈdjuːs/, SAMPA: /rI"dju:s/
• (US) IPA ^(key): /rɪˈduːs/, SAMPA: /rI"du:s/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

Plain form reduce

Third-person singular reduces

Past tense reduced

Past participle reduced

Present participle reducing

Reduce is on the Academic Vocabulary List.

1. (transitive) If something is reduced, it has been brought down or made smaller.
   • Synonyms: shrink and decrease
   • Antonyms: enlarge, increase and stretch

   The new computer system should reduce the number of problems.

   This image is too large, could you please reduce the size?

   Eating well will reduce the risk of heart disease.

   Our time in the country was reduced to just a few days.

   Taxes have been reduced by 24 percent.

2. (transitive & intransitive) If you reduce a liquid, you boil it to make it thicker.

Related words

• reduced
• reduction
• reductionist
• reductionism
• reducible