/ rɪˈdjuːs; NAmE -ˈduːs/ verb
1.
[ vn ] reduce sth (from sth) (to sth) | reduce sth (by sth) to make sth less or smaller in size, quantity, price, etc. :
Reduce speed now (= on a sign) .
Costs have been reduced by 20% over the past year.
Giving up smoking reduces the risk of heart disease.
The number of employees was reduced from 40 to 25.
The skirt was reduced to £10 in the sale.
2.
[ vn , v ] if you reduce a liquid or a liquid reduces , you boil it so that it becomes less in quantity
3.
[ v ] ( NAmE , informal ) to lose weight by limiting the amount and type of food that you eat :
a reducing plan
4.
[ vn ] ( chemistry ) to add one or more electrons to a substance or to remove oxygen from a substance
—compare oxidize
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IDIOMS
- reduced circumstances
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PHRASAL VERBS
- reduce sb/sth (from sth) to sth / to doing sth
- reduce sth to sth
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Latin reducere , from re- back, again + ducere bring, lead. The original sense was bring back ; this led to bring to a different state , then bring to a simpler or lower state (hence sense 2); and finally diminish in size or amount (sense 1, dating from the late 18th cent.).