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1. Any process in which electrons are added to an atom or ion (as by removing oxygen or adding hydrogen); always occurs accompanied by oxidation of the reducing agent
   - reduction
    
2. Loss of excess weight (as by dieting); becoming slimmer
   "a doctor supervised her reducing"

1. Make a reduction in, cut down on
   "reduce your daily fat intake";
   - cut down, cut back, trim, trim down, trim back, cut, bring down
    
2. Make less complex
   "reduce a problem to a single question"
    
3. Bring to humbler or weaker state or condition
   "He reduced the population to slavery"
    
4. (mathematics) simplify the form of a mathematical equation of expression by substituting one term for another
    
5. Lower in grade, rank or force somebody into an undignified situation
   "She reduced her niece to a servant"
    
6. Be the essential element
   "The proposal reduces to a compromise";
   - come down, boil down
    
7. Reduce in size; reduce physically
   - shrink
    
8. Lessen and make more modest
   "reduce one's standard of living"
    
9. Make smaller
   "reduce an image";
   - scale down
    
10. (chemistry) 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 [Brit]
     
11. Narrow or limit
    "reduce the influx of foreigners";
    - tighten
     
12. Put down by force or intimidation
    "The government reduces any attempt of an uprising";
    - repress, quash, keep down, subdue, subjugate
     
13. Undergo meiosis
    "The cells reduce"
     
14. Reposition (a broken bone after surgery) back to its normal site
     
15. (linguistics) destress and thus weaken a sound when pronouncing it
     
16. Reduce in scope while retaining essential elements
    "The manuscript must be reduced";
    - abridge, foreshorten, abbreviate, shorten, cut, contract
     
17. (cooking) be cooked until very little liquid is left
    "The sauce should reduce to one cup";
    - boil down, decoct [archaic], concentrate
     
18. (cooking) cook until very little liquid is left
    "The cook reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time";
    - boil down, concentrate
     
19. Lessen the strength or flavour of a solution or mixture
    - dilute, thin, thin out, cut
     
20. Take off weight
    - melt off, lose weight, slim, slenderize, thin, slim down, slenderise [Brit]

Derived forms: reducings

Type of: become, bound, break, bump, change, change state, chemical reaction, confine, crush, decrease, de-emphasise [Brit], de-emphasize, degrade, demean, demote, destress, diminish, disgrace, divide, exchange, fall, impoverish, interchange, kick downstairs, lessen, limit, loss, minify, oppress, part, put down, reaction, relegate, replace, reposition, restrain, restrict, separate, simplify, sub, substitute, suppress, take down, throttle, trammel, turn, weaken

Antonym: blow up, gain

Encyclopedia: Reducing