Reduce

Reduce
Reduce Re*duce" (r[-e]*d[=u]s"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Reduced} (-d[=u]st"),; p. pr. & vb. n. {Reducing} (-d[=u]"s[i^]ng).] [L. reducere, reductum; pref. red-. re-, re- + ducere to lead. See {Duke}, and cf. {Redoubt}, n.] 1. To bring or lead back to any former place or condition. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

And to his brother's house reduced his wife. --Chapman. [1913 Webster]

The sheep must of necessity be scattered, unless the great Shephered of souls oppose, or some of his delegates reduce and direct us. --Evelyn. [1913 Webster]

2. To bring to any inferior state, with respect to rank, size, quantity, quality, value, etc.; to diminish; to lower; to degrade; to impair; as, to reduce a sergeant to the ranks; to reduce a drawing; to reduce expenses; to reduce the intensity of heat. ``An ancient but reduced family.'' --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]

Nothing so excellent but a man may fasten upon something belonging to it, to reduce it. --Tillotson. [1913 Webster]

Having reduced Their foe to misery beneath their fears. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

Hester Prynne was shocked at the condition to which she found the clergyman reduced. --Hawthorne. [1913 Webster]

3. To bring to terms; to humble; to conquer; to subdue; to capture; as, to reduce a province or a fort. [1913 Webster]

4. To bring to a certain state or condition by grinding, pounding, kneading, rubbing, etc.; as, to reduce a substance to powder, or to a pasty mass; to reduce fruit, wood, or paper rags, to pulp. [1913 Webster]

It were but right And equal to reduce me to my dust. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

5. To bring into a certain order, arrangement, classification, etc.; to bring under rules or within certain limits of descriptions and terms adapted to use in computation; as, to reduce animals or vegetables to a class or classes; to reduce a series of observations in astronomy; to reduce language to rules. [1913 Webster]

6. (Arith.) (a) To change, as numbers, from one denomination into another without altering their value, or from one denomination into others of the same value; as, to reduce pounds, shillings, and pence to pence, or to reduce pence to pounds; to reduce days and hours to minutes, or minutes to days and hours. (b) To change the form of a quantity or expression without altering its value; as, to reduce fractions to their lowest terms, to a common denominator, etc. [1913 Webster]

7. (Chem.) To add an electron to an atom or ion. Specifically: To remove oxygen from; to deoxidize. (Metallurgy) To bring to the metallic state by separating from combined oxygen and impurities; as, metals are reduced from their ores. (Chem.) To combine with, or to subject to the action of, hydrogen or any other reducing agent; as, ferric iron is reduced to ferrous iron; aldehydes can be reduced to alcohols by lithium hydride; -- opposed to {oxidize}. [1913 Webster +PJC]

8. (Med.) To restore to its proper place or condition, as a displaced organ or part; as, to reduce a dislocation, a fracture, or a hernia. [1913 Webster]

{Reduced iron} (Chem.), metallic iron obtained through deoxidation of an oxide of iron by exposure to a current of hydrogen or other reducing agent. When hydrogen is used the product is called also {iron by hydrogen}.

{To reduce an equation} (Alg.), to bring the unknown quantity by itself on one side, and all the known quantities on the other side, without destroying the equation.

{To reduce an expression} (Alg.), to obtain an equivalent expression of simpler form.

{To reduce a square} (Mil.), to reform the line or column from the square. [1913 Webster]

Syn: To diminish; lessen; decrease; abate; shorten; curtail; impair; lower; subject; subdue; subjugate; conquer. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • reduce — REDÚCE, redúc, vb. III. tranz. 1. A micşora, a scădea, a diminua (ca proporţii, cantitate, intensitate). ♦ spec. A micşora dimensiunile unei hărţi, ale unei piese etc., păstrând aceleaşi proporţii între elementele componente; a reproduce la… …   Dicționar Român

  • reduce — re‧duce [rɪˈdjuːs ǁ rɪˈduːs] verb [transitive] to make something less or smaller in price, amount, or size: • Jobs have been cut in order to reduce costs. • Prices have been reduced by 20%. reduce something (from something) to something …   Financial and business terms

  • reduce — re·duce /ri düs, dyüs/ vt re·duced, re·duc·ing 1: to make smaller 2 a: to convert (a chose in action) into a chose in possession enforcement action sought to reduce to possession her property interest in the...determination of money damages… …   Law dictionary

  • Reduce — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda REDUCE es un programa de uso general de álgebra computacional (CAS) encaminado hacia usos en física. Comenzó a ser desarrollado desde la década de 1960 por Anthony Hearn, desde enctonces, muchos científicos de todo… …   Wikipedia Español

  • reduce — ► VERB 1) make or become smaller or less in amount, degree, or size. 2) (reduce to) change (something) to (a simpler or more basic form). 3) (reduce to) bring to (an undesirable state or action). 4) boil (a sauce or other liquid) so that it… …   English terms dictionary

  • reduce — [v1] make less; decrease abate, abridge, bankrupt, bant, break, cheapen, chop, clip, contract, curtail, cut, cut back, cut down, debase, deflate, depreciate, depress, diet, dilute, diminish, discount, drain, dwindle, go on a diet*, impair,… …   New thesaurus

  • reduce — [ri do͞os′, ridyo͞os′] vt. reduced, reducing [ME reducen < L reducere, to lead back < re , back + ducere, to lead: see DUCT] 1. a) to lessen in any way, as in size, weight, amount, value, price, etc.; diminish b) to put into a simpler or… …   English World dictionary

  • reduce — (v.) late 14c., bring back, from O.Fr. reducer (14c.), from L. reducere, from re back (see RE (Cf. re )) + ducere bring, lead (see DUKE (Cf. duke) (n.)). Sense of to lower, diminish, lessen is from 1787. Etymological sense preserved in military… …   Etymology dictionary

  • reduce — / rɛdutʃe/ s.m. e f. [dal lat. redux ŭcis, der. di ducĕre guidare , col pref. re  ]. 1. [chi ritorna dalla guerra] ▶◀ ex combattente. 2. (estens.) [chi è appena uscito da un esperienza negativa, con la prep. da : essere r. da una lunga malattia ] …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • reduce — 1 *decrease, lessen, diminish, abate, dwindle Analogous words: *shorten, abridge, abbreviate, curtail, retrench: *contract, shrink, condense Contrasted words: *increase, augment, enlarge, multiply: *extend …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

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