Definition of reduce in English:

reduce

verb rɪˈdjuːsrɪˈdʒuːsrəˈd(j)us

[with object]

1Make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.
减少（数量），降低（程度），缩小（规模）
the need for businesses to reduce costs
公司降低成本的需要。
the workforce has been reduced to some 6,100
职工总数已被减至6，100人左右。
Example sentencesExamples
- Employers gain a better-trained workforce and reduced search costs for new employees.
- He says it will cut red-tape for many businesses in Scotland and reduce their costs.
- Maintaining the current workforce size but reducing the number of working hours across the board is not typically done.
- Using existing facilities and human resources can significantly reduce costs and security risks.
- This teaches how you can permanently reduce you weight by reducing the carbohydrates you eat.
- By practicing sound risk management on a daily basis, you can reduce and eliminate potential accidents and injuries.
- This drastically reduces the cost and size of a tunable solution to the system vendor.
- Young people considering setting up in business should look to reduce the risk involved as much as possible.
- The current focus is on risk management and reducing the costs of handling claims.
- They have greatly reduced the size and cost of most electronic products, while at the same time increasing their power and versatility.
- It is not surprising that Europeans are prepared to pay a considerable amount to reduce the risk of such a change.
- It also helps reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
- These people are highly sensitive to carbohydrates and can't seem to lose any weight unless they severely reduce their carb intake.
- With this program, you can reduce bodyfat without losing hard-earned muscle.
- This vacuum not only holds products in place, it also compacts the package size, reducing the amount of space they take up in cartons.
- The next car will be second hand and have a smaller engine to reduce fuel costs.
- A new one-piece case also reduces size and cost.
- They suggest that recovering patients reduce iron in their diet.
- This reduces costs for both business and the Government.
- But what is being done to try and lower this risk and thus reduce the cost of car insurance for everyone?
Synonyms
lessen, make less, make smaller, lower, bring down, decrease, turn down, diminish, take the edge off, minimize
shrink, narrow, contract, shorten, foreshorten, truncate, taper, close, abbreviate, condense, concentrate, abridge
deplete, axe, cut, cut back/down, make cutbacks in, scale down, trim, slim (down), prune, chop, curtail, limit
moderate, lighten, ease, dilute, mitigate, commute, qualify, alleviate, relax, abate
Finance amortize
make cheaper, lower the price of, lower/cut in price, cheapen, cut, mark down, discount, put on sale, offer at a giveaway price
informal slash, knock down
1. 1.1no object Become smaller or less in size, amount, or degree.
  减少（数量），降低（程度），缩小（规模）
  the number of priority homeless cases has reduced slightly
  被优先照顾的无家可归者人数已微幅下降。
  Example sentencesExamples
  Recent scans have shown that the tumour has reduced in size and appears to be less active.
  Mortgage protection runs for the same length of time as the mortgage and the cover reduces from year to year as the loan amount repayable drops.
  In the two decades since then, some of the hospitals have closed, and the number of long-stay patients has reduced dramatically.
  Thereafter the slope weathers uniformly, maintaining its angle but reducing in size.
  Follow-up scans confirmed this and showed that both tumours had reduced in size.
  Without appropriate training, most animal tissues reduce in size.
  Criminal damage reports also reduced, falling from 30 in June and July to 14 in August and September.
  I looked over, and for the first time, I noticed that my belly had drastically reduced in size.
  Before the end of his treatment a specialist at the Great Western Hospital's Osprey Unit said his tumour had reduced from the size of a melon to that of an orange.
  By the 14th treatment, the hand swelling had slightly reduced.
  However, on the wheeled bin system the crew size reduces from four down to two loaders.
  As they kept going, the amount of trees reduced, but she also noticed with her now keen senses that there were more animals as she heard more rustling sounds.
  Instead the amount of the loan reduces with the depreciation of the sum lent, commonly at the rate of 4 % per annum for five years.
  The branch network remains extensive, but it has reduced in size in recent years.
  At the same time the number of senior managers has slightly reduced.
  The most common form of under active thyroid occurs because the thyroid gland shrinks and gradually reduces or stops production of the thyroid hormones.
  Since the launch of the police operation the group has reduced in size considerably.
  The report says that the amount of summertime rain will increase by 20% in the west while slightly reducing in the east.
  Synonyms
  diminish, decrease, get smaller, become smaller, grow smaller, become less, grow less, lessen, wane, contract, shrink, fall off, taper off, tail off, drop, fall, go down, sink, slump, plummet
2. 1.2 Boil (a sauce or other liquid) in cooking so that it becomes thicker and more concentrated.
  慢煮使（调味汁等液体）浓缩变稠
  increase the heat and reduce the liquid
  Example sentencesExamples
  You can drink the stock as soup or reduce the cooking liquid by 3/4 for a few minutes to make a delicious light sauce.
  Next, take out the lobsters, keep them warm and reduce the cooking liquid.
  Remove onions and set aside; reduce cooking liquid to a light syrup consistency.
  Season with a pinch of salt, add double cream, bubble for another minute or two, shaking the pan occasionally, until the sauce is reduced and nice and glossy.
  She reduced the cooking liquid in a saucepan and added more white wine and spices before serving.
  As soon as the sauce has reduced by half, swirl in the butter and a little finely chopped mint.
  Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, reducing the liquid to a syrupy consistency.
  Add the vinegar, raise the heat to high, and cook one minute to reduce the liquid.
  If it is not, lift out the potatoes with a slotted spoon into a serving dish and reduce the sauce further by boiling.
  Simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and aromatic.
  Steep large prunes in dessert wine for a few hours, then reduce the liquid with a dollop of butter in a heavy based pan till caramel consistency.
  Cook over medium heat, reducing the liquid by one-third to make a syrup.
  When the sauce is reduced, pour over the oxtail and reheat gently.
  Add the wings back to the pan along with the chicken stock and tarragon and reduce the liquid by two thirds.
  Turn up the heat, reduce the liquid by bubbling down to 150 ml, then whisk in the remaining butter.
3. 1.3North American no object (of a person) lose weight, typically by dieting.
  〈主北美〉（尤指通过节食）减轻体重，减肥
  by May she had reduced to 9 stone
  到五月份她的体重已减至九英石。
  Example sentencesExamples
  Respondents were asked to name reasons why patients had not reduced, if they had not done so.
  Synonyms
  follow a diet, be on a diet, eat sparingly, eat selectively, abstain, fast
4. 1.4Photography Make (a negative or print) less dense.
  〔摄〕减薄（底片或图片）
  Example sentencesExamples
  I have noted that the print is reduced considerably during this washing process, but usually regains its full tonal range in the fix.
5. 1.5Phonetics Articulate (a speech sound) in a way requiring less muscular effort, giving rise in vowels to a more central articulatory position.
  〔语音〕弱化
2reduce someone/something toBring someone or something to (a worse or less desirable state or condition)
she has been reduced to near poverty
她沦落到几乎一无所有。
the church was reduced to rubble
教堂成了一堆碎石。
Example sentencesExamples
- The family was distraught on Monday after a lifetime's possessions were reduced to ashes in just minutes.
- They'd be reduced to blubbering babies, begging for their lives.
- The rivers that were raging torrents as I crossed them last December were reduced to babbling brooks.
- Survivors pulled belongings out of their destroyed homes, some of which were reduced to piles of dust.
- A large part of the Paradise Hotel was reduced to rubble and the rest was reduced to a smouldering shell.
- Both were reduced to pathetic caricatures of themselves by the height and steepness of the bunker face.
- By Sunday morning more than 300,000 buildings had disappeared and two-thirds of the city were reduced to smouldering ashes.
- Some houses were reduced to neat rectangles of foot-high rubble.
- Their houses, shops and factories were reduced to ashes.
- They, who had had careers and their own money, were reduced to baby-sitters and had to ask their husbands for money.
Synonyms
bring to, bring to the point of, force into, drive into
1. 2.1be reduced to doing something Be forced by difficult circumstances into doing something desperate.
  （人）被逼无奈，走投无路
  ordinary soldiers are reduced to begging
  普通士兵被迫行乞街头。
  Example sentencesExamples
  After Owen's long-range gem, Patrik Berger struck from similar distance and Boro were reduced to chasing shadows from then on.
  Yet the group failed to produce any biological agent, and were reduced to poking bags with umbrellas to disseminate the sarin gas they were able to make.
  She and her sister stayed in Moscow where they were reduced to burning books for warmth.
  Staff were ‘breaking down in tears of frustration’ as they were reduced to calculating cases on paper, MPs heard.
  Even the Germans, who had taken a lot of goals off Rangers in the semi-final and were a top side, were reduced to chasing shadows by the end.
  The mounting pension crisis saw more and more elderly people reduced to selling their homes in order to survive.
  Instead, the drug companies are reduced to producing slightly different versions of pre-existing products, which in the end is a zero-sum game.
2. 2.2 Make someone helpless with (shock, anguish, or amusement)
  Olga was reduced to stunned silence
  奥尔加被吓得一言不发。
  Example sentencesExamples
  Staff were reduced to tears when they surveyed the results at Redbridge Primary School.
  It had a shattering effect on those present and men and women, who normally take the dangers of racing in their stride, were reduced to tears.
  But minutes later the same packed grandstands were reduced to tears after their ‘King’ had died in a most public way as he suffered a heart attack and collapsed, dying almost immediately.
  The audience of parents, grandparents, Godparents and families were reduced to helpless fits of giggles.
  Apparently when American theatre audiences heard the song they were reduced to tears.
  Proving to be an ice-breaker, most of the class were reduced to fits of laughter.
  It was quite remarkable: all of a sudden, thinking Australians were reduced to shrieks of joys when a colourful rag was unfurled, (even an outdated and clearly colonial-era one at that).
  It was all too much for my uncle's sons who were reduced to pathetic sobs.
  Hardened Royal Marines were reduced to tears yesterday as the funeral of Yorkshire war hero Christopher Maddison was held with full military honours.
  At special test screenings, seven out of ten viewers were reduced to tears by the poignant, but simple messages portrayed in the film.
  Several other residents present have described the governors' behaviour as ‘obnoxious’, and some were reduced to tears.
3. 2.3 Force someone into (obedience or submission)
  使顺从；使屈服
  he reduced his grandees to due obedience
  他成功地使他的大公们服服帖帖。
  Synonyms
  bring to, bring to the point of, force into, drive into
3reduce something toChange a substance to (a different or more basic form)
使改变形式；使还原
it is difficult to understand how lava could have been reduced to dust
很难理解熔岩是如何变成灰的。
Example sentencesExamples
- Alkaline hydrolysis or tissue digestion works by breaking apart the chemical bonds that hold proteins together, reducing them to their basic components.
- Next, days-old worker bees beat their wings to ventilate the open honeycombs, in order to reduce the substance to a purer sugar.
1. 3.1 Present a problem or subject in (a simplified form)
  归纳，简化
  he reduces unimaginable statistics to manageable proportions
  他的工作是把不可思议的统计数据简化到可操作程度。
  Example sentencesExamples
  This is not only unsupported by the text, it also takes the mystery out of the play, reducing it to a simplistic piece of psychological realism.
  To reduce these experiences to simplistic dichotomies and folk concepts erases the complexity of embodied experiences and the cultural logic that underpins them.
  The complexities of the quality of social relationships would be reduced to such simplistic proxy variables.
  He believes that he's forced to simplify and reduce facts to single statements.
  It is easy to reduce arguments to simplistic ideas.
  Most science involves taking a large subject and reducing it to ever smaller, more precise questions.
  To simplify our description, we can reduce it to the following steps.
  He approaches the subject with thoroughness and a distinct effort to reduce its apparent complexity to simpler, actionable concepts.
  This is when a politician reduces a complex situation to a simplistic argument for the sole purpose of political gain.
  His designs reduced a natural subject to its essentials.
2. 3.2 Convert a fraction to (the form with the lowest terms).
  将分数约到（最小项）
  Example sentencesExamples
  But Zu would know how to reduce fractions to their lowest terms by dividing top and bottom by the greatest common divisor.
  There is no need to reduce the proper fractions to their lowest forms - Euclid's algorithm will still give the correct CF.
4Chemistry
Cause to combine chemically with hydrogen.
〔化〕使还原
hydrogen for reducing the carbon dioxide
1. 4.1 Undergo or cause to undergo a reaction in which electrons are gained from another substance or molecule.
  （使）进行还原反应。OXIDIZE 的反义词
  no object this compound reduces to potassium chloride
  The opposite of oxidize
  with object the arsenic is reduced to the trivalent condition
  Example sentencesExamples
  During these reactions, the molecule that donates the electron is oxidized and the molecule that accepts the electron is reduced.
  Likewise, when an atom is reduced, it gains an electron and becomes more negative.
  Reactions in which atoms of the same element are both oxidized and reduced are disproportionation reactions.
5Restore (a dislocated part of the body) to its proper position by manipulation or surgery.
使（脱臼，断骨）复位
Joe's reducing a dislocated thumb
Example sentencesExamples
- Kocher's manoeuvre was attempted to reduce the dislocation.
- The dislocation should be reduced as soon as possible.
- The dislocation is reduced at the hospital in Taos, but there are so many broken bones that I'll need surgery.
6archaic Besiege and capture (a town or fortress).
〈古〉攻克，征服（尤指围攻并占领城镇或要塞）
Example sentencesExamples
- Further, he set aside the likelihood that siege guns and time would reduce the fortress.
- A couple of weeks was spent reducing the last major fortress to the south of Antioch, then Raymond led the army southward on 13 January 1099.
- Fortresses were redesigned to take advantage of the defensive potential of modern firearms and techniques for besieging and reducing fortresses were refined.

Phrases

reduced circumstances

Used euphemistically to refer to the state of being poor after being relatively wealthy.
委婉表达从富到穷生活窘迫
a divorcee living in reduced circumstances
生活拮据的离婚者。
Example sentencesExamples
- Instead he continued to try and make the kind of films he wanted to make, in reduced circumstances.
- Despite his seemingly reduced circumstances, Reid was still able to spend almost 3000 on a round-trip ticket from Paris via Miami and Antigua.
- How have you coped with your new, reduced circumstances?
- Don't get too depressed at your newly reduced circumstances.
- Having taken advantage of increased funding to become a full-time athlete, he now finds his reduced circumstances and changing priorities have affected his thinking.
- However, many of these women were living in reduced circumstances, and in order to increase their productivity they were forced to enlist the help of their own children, which kept them out of school.
- This told the story of a family struggling to survive in reduced circumstances after the father had been falsely imprisoned.
- She now lives, in very reduced circumstances, with her son.
- These were difficult years financially, and he never fully recovered from his reduced circumstances even after he moved back to New York in 1783.
- It is a fact of life that the death of a husband or wife results in reduced circumstances for the surviving partner.
Synonyms
impoverished, in straitened circumstances, ruined, bankrupt, bankrupted, bust, insolvent

reduce someone to the ranks

Demote a non-commissioned officer to an ordinary soldier.
把军士降为普通士兵
the platoon consisted of ex-NCOs who had been reduced to the ranks for various offences
Synonyms
demote, downgrade, lower, lower in rank, lower in status

Derivatives

reducer

noun rɪˈdjuːsərɪˈdʒuːsərəˈd(j)usər

The environmental noise reducer is aimed at industry as well as individuals and the industrial version, for use in factories, could cost £10,000.
Example sentencesExamples
- In addition, some water reducers increase air content.
- Although it has a long history in traditional Chinese medicine as a fever reducer, modern science has largely revealed the supplement's role in enhancing brain function.
- Exercise is another important stress reducer - particularly during the winter, when many people aren't as active as they are during other times of the year.
- The most effective combinations include at least two antibiotics plus the acid reducers.

Origin

Late Middle English: from Latin reducere, from re- 'back, again' + ducere 'bring, lead'. The original sense was 'bring back' (hence 'restore', now surviving in sense 5); this led to 'bring to a different state', then 'bring to a simpler or lower state' (hence sense 3); and finally 'diminish in size or amount' (sense 1, dating from the late 18th century).

duct from mid 17th century:
Duct comes from Latin ductus meaning both ‘leading’ and ‘aqueduct’ formed from ducere ‘to lead’. The verb has produced numerous words in English including abduct (early 17th century) to lead away; conduct (Middle English) lead with; conduit (Middle English); deduce (Late Middle English) draw a conclusion from something; duke; educate (Late Middle English) ‘lead out’; induce (Late Middle English) lead in; introduce (Late Middle English) bring into (a group etc); produce (Late Middle English) ‘lead forward’; reduce (Late Middle English) bring back; seduce (Late Middle English) lead away (originally from duty, with the sexual sense developing in the M16th); subdue (Late Middle English) ‘draw from below’.

Rhymes

abstruse, abuse, adduce, Ballets Russes, Belarus, Bruce, burnous, caboose, charlotte russe, conduce, deduce, deuce, diffuse, douce, educe, excuse, goose, induce, introduce, juice, Larousse, loose, luce, misuse, moose, mousse, noose, obtuse, Palouse, produce, profuse, puce, recluse, Rousse, seduce, sluice, Sousse, spruce, traduce, truce, use, vamoose, Zeus

Definition of reduce in US English:

reduce

verbrəˈd(j)usrəˈd(y)o͞os

[with object]

1Make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.
减少（数量），降低（程度），缩小（规模）
the need for businesses to reduce costs
公司降低成本的需要。
the workforce has been reduced to some 6,100
职工总数已被减至6，100人左右。
a reduced risk of coronary disease
降低了的冠心病风险。
Example sentencesExamples
- The current focus is on risk management and reducing the costs of handling claims.
- They have greatly reduced the size and cost of most electronic products, while at the same time increasing their power and versatility.
- It also helps reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
- This reduces costs for both business and the Government.
- With this program, you can reduce bodyfat without losing hard-earned muscle.
- A new one-piece case also reduces size and cost.
- This vacuum not only holds products in place, it also compacts the package size, reducing the amount of space they take up in cartons.
- They suggest that recovering patients reduce iron in their diet.
- Employers gain a better-trained workforce and reduced search costs for new employees.
- He says it will cut red-tape for many businesses in Scotland and reduce their costs.
- The next car will be second hand and have a smaller engine to reduce fuel costs.
- This teaches how you can permanently reduce you weight by reducing the carbohydrates you eat.
- These people are highly sensitive to carbohydrates and can't seem to lose any weight unless they severely reduce their carb intake.
- Young people considering setting up in business should look to reduce the risk involved as much as possible.
- But what is being done to try and lower this risk and thus reduce the cost of car insurance for everyone?
- Using existing facilities and human resources can significantly reduce costs and security risks.
- This drastically reduces the cost and size of a tunable solution to the system vendor.
- It is not surprising that Europeans are prepared to pay a considerable amount to reduce the risk of such a change.
- Maintaining the current workforce size but reducing the number of working hours across the board is not typically done.
- By practicing sound risk management on a daily basis, you can reduce and eliminate potential accidents and injuries.
Synonyms
lessen, make less, make smaller, lower, bring down, decrease, turn down, diminish, take the edge off, minimize
make cheaper, lower the price of, cut in price, lower in price, cheapen, cut, mark down, discount, put on sale, offer at a giveaway price
1. 1.1no object Become smaller or less in size, amount, or degree.
  减少（数量），降低（程度），缩小（规模）
  the number of priority homeless cases has reduced slightly
  被优先照顾的无家可归者人数已微幅下降。
  Example sentencesExamples
  The branch network remains extensive, but it has reduced in size in recent years.
  Instead the amount of the loan reduces with the depreciation of the sum lent, commonly at the rate of 4 % per annum for five years.
  Follow-up scans confirmed this and showed that both tumours had reduced in size.
  Thereafter the slope weathers uniformly, maintaining its angle but reducing in size.
  The report says that the amount of summertime rain will increase by 20% in the west while slightly reducing in the east.
  At the same time the number of senior managers has slightly reduced.
  Before the end of his treatment a specialist at the Great Western Hospital's Osprey Unit said his tumour had reduced from the size of a melon to that of an orange.
  Criminal damage reports also reduced, falling from 30 in June and July to 14 in August and September.
  However, on the wheeled bin system the crew size reduces from four down to two loaders.
  Recent scans have shown that the tumour has reduced in size and appears to be less active.
  As they kept going, the amount of trees reduced, but she also noticed with her now keen senses that there were more animals as she heard more rustling sounds.
  I looked over, and for the first time, I noticed that my belly had drastically reduced in size.
  Since the launch of the police operation the group has reduced in size considerably.
  Mortgage protection runs for the same length of time as the mortgage and the cover reduces from year to year as the loan amount repayable drops.
  Without appropriate training, most animal tissues reduce in size.
  The most common form of under active thyroid occurs because the thyroid gland shrinks and gradually reduces or stops production of the thyroid hormones.
  In the two decades since then, some of the hospitals have closed, and the number of long-stay patients has reduced dramatically.
  By the 14th treatment, the hand swelling had slightly reduced.
  Synonyms
  diminish, decrease, get smaller, become smaller, grow smaller, become less, grow less, lessen, wane, contract, shrink, fall off, taper off, tail off, drop, fall, go down, sink, slump, plummet
2. 1.2 Boil (a sauce or other liquid) in cooking so that it becomes thicker and more concentrated.
  慢煮使（调味汁等液体）浓缩变稠
  Example sentencesExamples
  You can drink the stock as soup or reduce the cooking liquid by 3/4 for a few minutes to make a delicious light sauce.
  Cook over medium heat, reducing the liquid by one-third to make a syrup.
  If it is not, lift out the potatoes with a slotted spoon into a serving dish and reduce the sauce further by boiling.
  Season with a pinch of salt, add double cream, bubble for another minute or two, shaking the pan occasionally, until the sauce is reduced and nice and glossy.
  Remove onions and set aside; reduce cooking liquid to a light syrup consistency.
  Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, reducing the liquid to a syrupy consistency.
  Turn up the heat, reduce the liquid by bubbling down to 150 ml, then whisk in the remaining butter.
  Steep large prunes in dessert wine for a few hours, then reduce the liquid with a dollop of butter in a heavy based pan till caramel consistency.
  Add the vinegar, raise the heat to high, and cook one minute to reduce the liquid.
  When the sauce is reduced, pour over the oxtail and reheat gently.
  Next, take out the lobsters, keep them warm and reduce the cooking liquid.
  Add the wings back to the pan along with the chicken stock and tarragon and reduce the liquid by two thirds.
  Simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and aromatic.
  She reduced the cooking liquid in a saucepan and added more white wine and spices before serving.
  As soon as the sauce has reduced by half, swirl in the butter and a little finely chopped mint.
3. 1.3North American no object (of a person) lose weight, typically by dieting.
  〈主北美〉（尤指通过节食）减轻体重，减肥
  by May she had reduced to 125 pounds
  到五月份她的体重已减至九英石。
  Example sentencesExamples
  Respondents were asked to name reasons why patients had not reduced, if they had not done so.
  Synonyms
  follow a diet, be on a diet, eat sparingly, eat selectively, abstain, fast
4. 1.4Photography Make (a negative or print) less dense.
  〔摄〕减薄（底片或图片）
  Example sentencesExamples
  I have noted that the print is reduced considerably during this washing process, but usually regains its full tonal range in the fix.
5. 1.5Phonetics Articulate (a speech sound) in a way requiring less muscular effort. In vowels, this gives rise to a more central articulatory position.
  〔语音〕弱化
2reduce someone/something toBring someone or something to (a lower or weaker state, condition, or role)
使（某人/事）降至（某种状态、境地或角色）
she has been reduced to near poverty
她沦落到几乎一无所有。
the church was reduced to rubble
教堂成了一堆碎石。
Example sentencesExamples
- They, who had had careers and their own money, were reduced to baby-sitters and had to ask their husbands for money.
- The rivers that were raging torrents as I crossed them last December were reduced to babbling brooks.
- The family was distraught on Monday after a lifetime's possessions were reduced to ashes in just minutes.
- A large part of the Paradise Hotel was reduced to rubble and the rest was reduced to a smouldering shell.
- Both were reduced to pathetic caricatures of themselves by the height and steepness of the bunker face.
- Their houses, shops and factories were reduced to ashes.
- They'd be reduced to blubbering babies, begging for their lives.
- Some houses were reduced to neat rectangles of foot-high rubble.
- Survivors pulled belongings out of their destroyed homes, some of which were reduced to piles of dust.
- By Sunday morning more than 300,000 buildings had disappeared and two-thirds of the city were reduced to smouldering ashes.
Synonyms
bring to, bring to the point of, force into, drive into
1. 2.1be reduced to doing something (of a person) be forced by difficult circumstances into doing something desperate.
  （人）被逼无奈，走投无路
  ordinary soldiers are reduced to begging
  普通士兵被迫行乞街头。
  Example sentencesExamples
  The mounting pension crisis saw more and more elderly people reduced to selling their homes in order to survive.
  Even the Germans, who had taken a lot of goals off Rangers in the semi-final and were a top side, were reduced to chasing shadows by the end.
  She and her sister stayed in Moscow where they were reduced to burning books for warmth.
  Staff were ‘breaking down in tears of frustration’ as they were reduced to calculating cases on paper, MPs heard.
  Instead, the drug companies are reduced to producing slightly different versions of pre-existing products, which in the end is a zero-sum game.
  Yet the group failed to produce any biological agent, and were reduced to poking bags with umbrellas to disseminate the sarin gas they were able to make.
  After Owen's long-range gem, Patrik Berger struck from similar distance and Boro were reduced to chasing shadows from then on.
2. 2.2 Make someone helpless with (an expression of emotion, especially with hurt, shock, or amusement)
  使无法不表露某种神情（尤指受屈、受惊或感到有趣）
  Olga was reduced to stunned silence
  奥尔加被吓得一言不发。
  Example sentencesExamples
  Hardened Royal Marines were reduced to tears yesterday as the funeral of Yorkshire war hero Christopher Maddison was held with full military honours.
  Staff were reduced to tears when they surveyed the results at Redbridge Primary School.
  It was quite remarkable: all of a sudden, thinking Australians were reduced to shrieks of joys when a colourful rag was unfurled, (even an outdated and clearly colonial-era one at that).
  The audience of parents, grandparents, Godparents and families were reduced to helpless fits of giggles.
  It had a shattering effect on those present and men and women, who normally take the dangers of racing in their stride, were reduced to tears.
  Apparently when American theatre audiences heard the song they were reduced to tears.
  At special test screenings, seven out of ten viewers were reduced to tears by the poignant, but simple messages portrayed in the film.
  Proving to be an ice-breaker, most of the class were reduced to fits of laughter.
  Several other residents present have described the governors' behaviour as ‘obnoxious’, and some were reduced to tears.
  It was all too much for my uncle's sons who were reduced to pathetic sobs.
  But minutes later the same packed grandstands were reduced to tears after their ‘King’ had died in a most public way as he suffered a heart attack and collapsed, dying almost immediately.
3. 2.3 Force someone into (obedience or submission)
  使顺从；使屈服
  he succeeds in reducing his grandees to due obedience
  他成功地使他的大公们服服帖帖。
  Synonyms
  bring to, bring to the point of, force into, drive into
3reduce something toChange a substance to (a different or more basic form)
使改变形式；使还原
it is difficult to understand how lava could have been reduced to dust
很难理解熔岩是如何变成灰的。
Example sentencesExamples
- Alkaline hydrolysis or tissue digestion works by breaking apart the chemical bonds that hold proteins together, reducing them to their basic components.
- Next, days-old worker bees beat their wings to ventilate the open honeycombs, in order to reduce the substance to a purer sugar.
1. 3.1 Present a problem or subject in (a simplified form)
  归纳，简化
  he reduces unimaginable statistics to manageable proportions
  他的工作是把不可思议的统计数据简化到可操作程度。
  Example sentencesExamples
  His designs reduced a natural subject to its essentials.
  To simplify our description, we can reduce it to the following steps.
  It is easy to reduce arguments to simplistic ideas.
  He believes that he's forced to simplify and reduce facts to single statements.
  The complexities of the quality of social relationships would be reduced to such simplistic proxy variables.
  Most science involves taking a large subject and reducing it to ever smaller, more precise questions.
  This is when a politician reduces a complex situation to a simplistic argument for the sole purpose of political gain.
  This is not only unsupported by the text, it also takes the mystery out of the play, reducing it to a simplistic piece of psychological realism.
  He approaches the subject with thoroughness and a distinct effort to reduce its apparent complexity to simpler, actionable concepts.
  To reduce these experiences to simplistic dichotomies and folk concepts erases the complexity of embodied experiences and the cultural logic that underpins them.
2. 3.2 Convert a fraction to (the form with the lowest terms).
  将分数约到（最小项）
  Example sentencesExamples
  There is no need to reduce the proper fractions to their lowest forms - Euclid's algorithm will still give the correct CF.
  But Zu would know how to reduce fractions to their lowest terms by dividing top and bottom by the greatest common divisor.
4Chemistry
Cause to combine chemically with hydrogen.
〔化〕使还原
1. 4.1 Undergo or cause to undergo a reaction in which electrons are gained by one atom from another.
  （使）进行还原反应。OXIDIZE 的反义词
  The opposite of oxidize
  Example sentencesExamples
  Likewise, when an atom is reduced, it gains an electron and becomes more negative.
  Reactions in which atoms of the same element are both oxidized and reduced are disproportionation reactions.
  During these reactions, the molecule that donates the electron is oxidized and the molecule that accepts the electron is reduced.
5Restore (a dislocated part) to its proper position by manipulation or surgery.
使（脱臼，断骨）复位
Example sentencesExamples
- The dislocation is reduced at the hospital in Taos, but there are so many broken bones that I'll need surgery.
- Kocher's manoeuvre was attempted to reduce the dislocation.
- The dislocation should be reduced as soon as possible.
6archaic Besiege and capture (a town or fortress).
〈古〉攻克，征服（尤指围攻并占领城镇或要塞）
Example sentencesExamples
- A couple of weeks was spent reducing the last major fortress to the south of Antioch, then Raymond led the army southward on 13 January 1099.
- Further, he set aside the likelihood that siege guns and time would reduce the fortress.
- Fortresses were redesigned to take advantage of the defensive potential of modern firearms and techniques for besieging and reducing fortresses were refined.

Phrases

reduced circumstances

Used euphemistically to refer to the state of being poor after being relatively wealthy.
委婉表达从富到穷生活窘迫
a divorcee living in reduced circumstances
生活拮据的离婚者。
Example sentencesExamples
- Don't get too depressed at your newly reduced circumstances.
- These were difficult years financially, and he never fully recovered from his reduced circumstances even after he moved back to New York in 1783.
- However, many of these women were living in reduced circumstances, and in order to increase their productivity they were forced to enlist the help of their own children, which kept them out of school.
- This told the story of a family struggling to survive in reduced circumstances after the father had been falsely imprisoned.
- Instead he continued to try and make the kind of films he wanted to make, in reduced circumstances.
- Despite his seemingly reduced circumstances, Reid was still able to spend almost 3000 on a round-trip ticket from Paris via Miami and Antigua.
- It is a fact of life that the death of a husband or wife results in reduced circumstances for the surviving partner.
- How have you coped with your new, reduced circumstances?
- She now lives, in very reduced circumstances, with her son.
- Having taken advantage of increased funding to become a full-time athlete, he now finds his reduced circumstances and changing priorities have affected his thinking.
Synonyms
impoverished, in straitened circumstances, ruined, bankrupt, bankrupted, bust, insolvent

reduce someone to the ranks

Demote a noncommissioned officer to an ordinary soldier.
把军士降为普通士兵
Synonyms
demote, downgrade, lower, lower in rank, lower in status

Origin

Late Middle English: from Latin reducere, from re- ‘back, again’ + ducere ‘bring, lead’. The original sense was ‘bring back’ (hence ‘restore’, now surviving in reduce (sense 5)); this led to ‘bring to a different state’, then ‘bring to a simpler or lower state’ (hence reduce (sense 3)); and finally ‘diminish in size or amount’ ( reduce (sense 1), dating from the late 18th century).

词汇	reduce
释义	Definition of reduce in English: reduce verb rɪˈdjuːsrɪˈdʒuːsrəˈd(j)us [with object] 1Make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size. 减少（数量），降低（程度），缩小（规模） the need for businesses to reduce costs 公司降低成本的需要。 the workforce has been reduced to some 6,100 职工总数已被减至6，100人左右。 Example sentencesExamples Employers gain a better-trained workforce and reduced search costs for new employees. He says it will cut red-tape for many businesses in Scotland and reduce their costs. Maintaining the current workforce size but reducing the number of working hours across the board is not typically done. Using existing facilities and human resources can significantly reduce costs and security risks. This teaches how you can permanently reduce you weight by reducing the carbohydrates you eat. By practicing sound risk management on a daily basis, you can reduce and eliminate potential accidents and injuries. This drastically reduces the cost and size of a tunable solution to the system vendor. Young people considering setting up in business should look to reduce the risk involved as much as possible. The current focus is on risk management and reducing the costs of handling claims. They have greatly reduced the size and cost of most electronic products, while at the same time increasing their power and versatility. It is not surprising that Europeans are prepared to pay a considerable amount to reduce the risk of such a change. It also helps reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. These people are highly sensitive to carbohydrates and can't seem to lose any weight unless they severely reduce their carb intake. With this program, you can reduce bodyfat without losing hard-earned muscle. This vacuum not only holds products in place, it also compacts the package size, reducing the amount of space they take up in cartons. The next car will be second hand and have a smaller engine to reduce fuel costs. A new one-piece case also reduces size and cost. They suggest that recovering patients reduce iron in their diet. This reduces costs for both business and the Government. But what is being done to try and lower this risk and thus reduce the cost of car insurance for everyone? Synonyms lessen, make less, make smaller, lower, bring down, decrease, turn down, diminish, take the edge off, minimize shrink, narrow, contract, shorten, foreshorten, truncate, taper, close, abbreviate, condense, concentrate, abridge deplete, axe, cut, cut back/down, make cutbacks in, scale down, trim, slim (down), prune, chop, curtail, limit moderate, lighten, ease, dilute, mitigate, commute, qualify, alleviate, relax, abate Finance amortize make cheaper, lower the price of, lower/cut in price, cheapen, cut, mark down, discount, put on sale, offer at a giveaway price informal slash, knock down 1.1no object Become smaller or less in size, amount, or degree. 减少（数量），降低（程度），缩小（规模） the number of priority homeless cases has reduced slightly 被优先照顾的无家可归者人数已微幅下降。 Example sentencesExamples Recent scans have shown that the tumour has reduced in size and appears to be less active. Mortgage protection runs for the same length of time as the mortgage and the cover reduces from year to year as the loan amount repayable drops. In the two decades since then, some of the hospitals have closed, and the number of long-stay patients has reduced dramatically. Thereafter the slope weathers uniformly, maintaining its angle but reducing in size. Follow-up scans confirmed this and showed that both tumours had reduced in size. Without appropriate training, most animal tissues reduce in size. Criminal damage reports also reduced, falling from 30 in June and July to 14 in August and September. I looked over, and for the first time, I noticed that my belly had drastically reduced in size. Before the end of his treatment a specialist at the Great Western Hospital's Osprey Unit said his tumour had reduced from the size of a melon to that of an orange. By the 14th treatment, the hand swelling had slightly reduced. However, on the wheeled bin system the crew size reduces from four down to two loaders. As they kept going, the amount of trees reduced, but she also noticed with her now keen senses that there were more animals as she heard more rustling sounds. Instead the amount of the loan reduces with the depreciation of the sum lent, commonly at the rate of 4 % per annum for five years. The branch network remains extensive, but it has reduced in size in recent years. At the same time the number of senior managers has slightly reduced. The most common form of under active thyroid occurs because the thyroid gland shrinks and gradually reduces or stops production of the thyroid hormones. Since the launch of the police operation the group has reduced in size considerably. The report says that the amount of summertime rain will increase by 20% in the west while slightly reducing in the east. Synonyms diminish, decrease, get smaller, become smaller, grow smaller, become less, grow less, lessen, wane, contract, shrink, fall off, taper off, tail off, drop, fall, go down, sink, slump, plummet 1.2 Boil (a sauce or other liquid) in cooking so that it becomes thicker and more concentrated. 慢煮使（调味汁等液体）浓缩变稠 increase the heat and reduce the liquid Example sentencesExamples You can drink the stock as soup or reduce the cooking liquid by 3/4 for a few minutes to make a delicious light sauce. Next, take out the lobsters, keep them warm and reduce the cooking liquid. Remove onions and set aside; reduce cooking liquid to a light syrup consistency. Season with a pinch of salt, add double cream, bubble for another minute or two, shaking the pan occasionally, until the sauce is reduced and nice and glossy. She reduced the cooking liquid in a saucepan and added more white wine and spices before serving. As soon as the sauce has reduced by half, swirl in the butter and a little finely chopped mint. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, reducing the liquid to a syrupy consistency. Add the vinegar, raise the heat to high, and cook one minute to reduce the liquid. If it is not, lift out the potatoes with a slotted spoon into a serving dish and reduce the sauce further by boiling. Simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and aromatic. Steep large prunes in dessert wine for a few hours, then reduce the liquid with a dollop of butter in a heavy based pan till caramel consistency. Cook over medium heat, reducing the liquid by one-third to make a syrup. When the sauce is reduced, pour over the oxtail and reheat gently. Add the wings back to the pan along with the chicken stock and tarragon and reduce the liquid by two thirds. Turn up the heat, reduce the liquid by bubbling down to 150 ml, then whisk in the remaining butter. 1.3North American no object (of a person) lose weight, typically by dieting. 〈主北美〉（尤指通过节食）减轻体重，减肥 by May she had reduced to 9 stone 到五月份她的体重已减至九英石。 Example sentencesExamples Respondents were asked to name reasons why patients had not reduced, if they had not done so. Synonyms follow a diet, be on a diet, eat sparingly, eat selectively, abstain, fast 1.4Photography Make (a negative or print) less dense. 〔摄〕减薄（底片或图片） Example sentencesExamples I have noted that the print is reduced considerably during this washing process, but usually regains its full tonal range in the fix. 1.5Phonetics Articulate (a speech sound) in a way requiring less muscular effort, giving rise in vowels to a more central articulatory position. 〔语音〕弱化 2reduce someone/something toBring someone or something to (a worse or less desirable state or condition) she has been reduced to near poverty 她沦落到几乎一无所有。 the church was reduced to rubble 教堂成了一堆碎石。 Example sentencesExamples The family was distraught on Monday after a lifetime's possessions were reduced to ashes in just minutes. They'd be reduced to blubbering babies, begging for their lives. The rivers that were raging torrents as I crossed them last December were reduced to babbling brooks. Survivors pulled belongings out of their destroyed homes, some of which were reduced to piles of dust. A large part of the Paradise Hotel was reduced to rubble and the rest was reduced to a smouldering shell. Both were reduced to pathetic caricatures of themselves by the height and steepness of the bunker face. By Sunday morning more than 300,000 buildings had disappeared and two-thirds of the city were reduced to smouldering ashes. Some houses were reduced to neat rectangles of foot-high rubble. Their houses, shops and factories were reduced to ashes. They, who had had careers and their own money, were reduced to baby-sitters and had to ask their husbands for money. Synonyms bring to, bring to the point of, force into, drive into 2.1be reduced to doing something Be forced by difficult circumstances into doing something desperate. （人）被逼无奈，走投无路 ordinary soldiers are reduced to begging 普通士兵被迫行乞街头。 Example sentencesExamples After Owen's long-range gem, Patrik Berger struck from similar distance and Boro were reduced to chasing shadows from then on. Yet the group failed to produce any biological agent, and were reduced to poking bags with umbrellas to disseminate the sarin gas they were able to make. She and her sister stayed in Moscow where they were reduced to burning books for warmth. Staff were ‘breaking down in tears of frustration’ as they were reduced to calculating cases on paper, MPs heard. Even the Germans, who had taken a lot of goals off Rangers in the semi-final and were a top side, were reduced to chasing shadows by the end. The mounting pension crisis saw more and more elderly people reduced to selling their homes in order to survive. Instead, the drug companies are reduced to producing slightly different versions of pre-existing products, which in the end is a zero-sum game. 2.2 Make someone helpless with (shock, anguish, or amusement) Olga was reduced to stunned silence 奥尔加被吓得一言不发。 Example sentencesExamples Staff were reduced to tears when they surveyed the results at Redbridge Primary School. It had a shattering effect on those present and men and women, who normally take the dangers of racing in their stride, were reduced to tears. But minutes later the same packed grandstands were reduced to tears after their ‘King’ had died in a most public way as he suffered a heart attack and collapsed, dying almost immediately. The audience of parents, grandparents, Godparents and families were reduced to helpless fits of giggles. Apparently when American theatre audiences heard the song they were reduced to tears. Proving to be an ice-breaker, most of the class were reduced to fits of laughter. It was quite remarkable: all of a sudden, thinking Australians were reduced to shrieks of joys when a colourful rag was unfurled, (even an outdated and clearly colonial-era one at that). It was all too much for my uncle's sons who were reduced to pathetic sobs. Hardened Royal Marines were reduced to tears yesterday as the funeral of Yorkshire war hero Christopher Maddison was held with full military honours. At special test screenings, seven out of ten viewers were reduced to tears by the poignant, but simple messages portrayed in the film. Several other residents present have described the governors' behaviour as ‘obnoxious’, and some were reduced to tears. 2.3 Force someone into (obedience or submission) 使顺从；使屈服 he reduced his grandees to due obedience 他成功地使他的大公们服服帖帖。 Synonyms bring to, bring to the point of, force into, drive into 3reduce something toChange a substance to (a different or more basic form) 使改变形式；使还原 it is difficult to understand how lava could have been reduced to dust 很难理解熔岩是如何变成灰的。 Example sentencesExamples Alkaline hydrolysis or tissue digestion works by breaking apart the chemical bonds that hold proteins together, reducing them to their basic components. Next, days-old worker bees beat their wings to ventilate the open honeycombs, in order to reduce the substance to a purer sugar. 3.1 Present a problem or subject in (a simplified form) 归纳，简化 he reduces unimaginable statistics to manageable proportions 他的工作是把不可思议的统计数据简化到可操作程度。 Example sentencesExamples This is not only unsupported by the text, it also takes the mystery out of the play, reducing it to a simplistic piece of psychological realism. To reduce these experiences to simplistic dichotomies and folk concepts erases the complexity of embodied experiences and the cultural logic that underpins them. The complexities of the quality of social relationships would be reduced to such simplistic proxy variables. He believes that he's forced to simplify and reduce facts to single statements. It is easy to reduce arguments to simplistic ideas. Most science involves taking a large subject and reducing it to ever smaller, more precise questions. To simplify our description, we can reduce it to the following steps. He approaches the subject with thoroughness and a distinct effort to reduce its apparent complexity to simpler, actionable concepts. This is when a politician reduces a complex situation to a simplistic argument for the sole purpose of political gain. His designs reduced a natural subject to its essentials. 3.2 Convert a fraction to (the form with the lowest terms). 将分数约到（最小项） Example sentencesExamples But Zu would know how to reduce fractions to their lowest terms by dividing top and bottom by the greatest common divisor. There is no need to reduce the proper fractions to their lowest forms - Euclid's algorithm will still give the correct CF. 4Chemistry Cause to combine chemically with hydrogen. 〔化〕使还原 hydrogen for reducing the carbon dioxide 4.1 Undergo or cause to undergo a reaction in which electrons are gained from another substance or molecule. （使）进行还原反应。OXIDIZE 的反义词 no object this compound reduces to potassium chloride The opposite of oxidize with object the arsenic is reduced to the trivalent condition Example sentencesExamples During these reactions, the molecule that donates the electron is oxidized and the molecule that accepts the electron is reduced. Likewise, when an atom is reduced, it gains an electron and becomes more negative. Reactions in which atoms of the same element are both oxidized and reduced are disproportionation reactions. 5Restore (a dislocated part of the body) to its proper position by manipulation or surgery. 使（脱臼，断骨）复位 Joe's reducing a dislocated thumb Example sentencesExamples Kocher's manoeuvre was attempted to reduce the dislocation. The dislocation should be reduced as soon as possible. The dislocation is reduced at the hospital in Taos, but there are so many broken bones that I'll need surgery. 6archaic Besiege and capture (a town or fortress). 〈古〉攻克，征服（尤指围攻并占领城镇或要塞） Example sentencesExamples Further, he set aside the likelihood that siege guns and time would reduce the fortress. A couple of weeks was spent reducing the last major fortress to the south of Antioch, then Raymond led the army southward on 13 January 1099. Fortresses were redesigned to take advantage of the defensive potential of modern firearms and techniques for besieging and reducing fortresses were refined. Phrases reduced circumstances Used euphemistically to refer to the state of being poor after being relatively wealthy. 委婉表达从富到穷生活窘迫 a divorcee living in reduced circumstances 生活拮据的离婚者。 Example sentencesExamples Instead he continued to try and make the kind of films he wanted to make, in reduced circumstances. Despite his seemingly reduced circumstances, Reid was still able to spend almost 3000 on a round-trip ticket from Paris via Miami and Antigua. How have you coped with your new, reduced circumstances? Don't get too depressed at your newly reduced circumstances. Having taken advantage of increased funding to become a full-time athlete, he now finds his reduced circumstances and changing priorities have affected his thinking. However, many of these women were living in reduced circumstances, and in order to increase their productivity they were forced to enlist the help of their own children, which kept them out of school. This told the story of a family struggling to survive in reduced circumstances after the father had been falsely imprisoned. She now lives, in very reduced circumstances, with her son. These were difficult years financially, and he never fully recovered from his reduced circumstances even after he moved back to New York in 1783. It is a fact of life that the death of a husband or wife results in reduced circumstances for the surviving partner. Synonyms impoverished, in straitened circumstances, ruined, bankrupt, bankrupted, bust, insolvent reduce someone to the ranks Demote a non-commissioned officer to an ordinary soldier. 把军士降为普通士兵 the platoon consisted of ex-NCOs who had been reduced to the ranks for various offences Synonyms demote, downgrade, lower, lower in rank, lower in status Derivatives reducer noun rɪˈdjuːsərɪˈdʒuːsərəˈd(j)usər The environmental noise reducer is aimed at industry as well as individuals and the industrial version, for use in factories, could cost £10,000. Example sentencesExamples In addition, some water reducers increase air content. Although it has a long history in traditional Chinese medicine as a fever reducer, modern science has largely revealed the supplement's role in enhancing brain function. Exercise is another important stress reducer - particularly during the winter, when many people aren't as active as they are during other times of the year. The most effective combinations include at least two antibiotics plus the acid reducers. Origin Late Middle English: from Latin reducere, from re- 'back, again' + ducere 'bring, lead'. The original sense was 'bring back' (hence 'restore', now surviving in sense 5); this led to 'bring to a different state', then 'bring to a simpler or lower state' (hence sense 3); and finally 'diminish in size or amount' (sense 1, dating from the late 18th century). duct from mid 17th century: Duct comes from Latin ductus meaning both ‘leading’ and ‘aqueduct’ formed from ducere ‘to lead’. The verb has produced numerous words in English including abduct (early 17th century) to lead away; conduct (Middle English) lead with; conduit (Middle English); deduce (Late Middle English) draw a conclusion from something; duke; educate (Late Middle English) ‘lead out’; induce (Late Middle English) lead in; introduce (Late Middle English) bring into (a group etc); produce (Late Middle English) ‘lead forward’; reduce (Late Middle English) bring back; seduce (Late Middle English) lead away (originally from duty, with the sexual sense developing in the M16th); subdue (Late Middle English) ‘draw from below’. Rhymes abstruse, abuse, adduce, Ballets Russes, Belarus, Bruce, burnous, caboose, charlotte russe, conduce, deduce, deuce, diffuse, douce, educe, excuse, goose, induce, introduce, juice, Larousse, loose, luce, misuse, moose, mousse, noose, obtuse, Palouse, produce, profuse, puce, recluse, Rousse, seduce, sluice, Sousse, spruce, traduce, truce, use, vamoose, Zeus verb.1 phr. Definition of reduce in US English: reduce verbrəˈd(j)usrəˈd(y)o͞os [with object] 1Make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size. 减少（数量），降低（程度），缩小（规模） the need for businesses to reduce costs 公司降低成本的需要。 the workforce has been reduced to some 6,100 职工总数已被减至6，100人左右。 a reduced risk of coronary disease 降低了的冠心病风险。 Example sentencesExamples The current focus is on risk management and reducing the costs of handling claims. They have greatly reduced the size and cost of most electronic products, while at the same time increasing their power and versatility. It also helps reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. This reduces costs for both business and the Government. With this program, you can reduce bodyfat without losing hard-earned muscle. A new one-piece case also reduces size and cost. This vacuum not only holds products in place, it also compacts the package size, reducing the amount of space they take up in cartons. They suggest that recovering patients reduce iron in their diet. Employers gain a better-trained workforce and reduced search costs for new employees. He says it will cut red-tape for many businesses in Scotland and reduce their costs. The next car will be second hand and have a smaller engine to reduce fuel costs. This teaches how you can permanently reduce you weight by reducing the carbohydrates you eat. These people are highly sensitive to carbohydrates and can't seem to lose any weight unless they severely reduce their carb intake. Young people considering setting up in business should look to reduce the risk involved as much as possible. But what is being done to try and lower this risk and thus reduce the cost of car insurance for everyone? Using existing facilities and human resources can significantly reduce costs and security risks. This drastically reduces the cost and size of a tunable solution to the system vendor. It is not surprising that Europeans are prepared to pay a considerable amount to reduce the risk of such a change. Maintaining the current workforce size but reducing the number of working hours across the board is not typically done. By practicing sound risk management on a daily basis, you can reduce and eliminate potential accidents and injuries. Synonyms lessen, make less, make smaller, lower, bring down, decrease, turn down, diminish, take the edge off, minimize make cheaper, lower the price of, cut in price, lower in price, cheapen, cut, mark down, discount, put on sale, offer at a giveaway price 1.1no object Become smaller or less in size, amount, or degree. 减少（数量），降低（程度），缩小（规模） the number of priority homeless cases has reduced slightly 被优先照顾的无家可归者人数已微幅下降。 Example sentencesExamples The branch network remains extensive, but it has reduced in size in recent years. Instead the amount of the loan reduces with the depreciation of the sum lent, commonly at the rate of 4 % per annum for five years. Follow-up scans confirmed this and showed that both tumours had reduced in size. Thereafter the slope weathers uniformly, maintaining its angle but reducing in size. The report says that the amount of summertime rain will increase by 20% in the west while slightly reducing in the east. At the same time the number of senior managers has slightly reduced. Before the end of his treatment a specialist at the Great Western Hospital's Osprey Unit said his tumour had reduced from the size of a melon to that of an orange. Criminal damage reports also reduced, falling from 30 in June and July to 14 in August and September. However, on the wheeled bin system the crew size reduces from four down to two loaders. Recent scans have shown that the tumour has reduced in size and appears to be less active. As they kept going, the amount of trees reduced, but she also noticed with her now keen senses that there were more animals as she heard more rustling sounds. I looked over, and for the first time, I noticed that my belly had drastically reduced in size. Since the launch of the police operation the group has reduced in size considerably. Mortgage protection runs for the same length of time as the mortgage and the cover reduces from year to year as the loan amount repayable drops. Without appropriate training, most animal tissues reduce in size. The most common form of under active thyroid occurs because the thyroid gland shrinks and gradually reduces or stops production of the thyroid hormones. In the two decades since then, some of the hospitals have closed, and the number of long-stay patients has reduced dramatically. By the 14th treatment, the hand swelling had slightly reduced. Synonyms diminish, decrease, get smaller, become smaller, grow smaller, become less, grow less, lessen, wane, contract, shrink, fall off, taper off, tail off, drop, fall, go down, sink, slump, plummet 1.2 Boil (a sauce or other liquid) in cooking so that it becomes thicker and more concentrated. 慢煮使（调味汁等液体）浓缩变稠 Example sentencesExamples You can drink the stock as soup or reduce the cooking liquid by 3/4 for a few minutes to make a delicious light sauce. Cook over medium heat, reducing the liquid by one-third to make a syrup. If it is not, lift out the potatoes with a slotted spoon into a serving dish and reduce the sauce further by boiling. Season with a pinch of salt, add double cream, bubble for another minute or two, shaking the pan occasionally, until the sauce is reduced and nice and glossy. Remove onions and set aside; reduce cooking liquid to a light syrup consistency. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, reducing the liquid to a syrupy consistency. Turn up the heat, reduce the liquid by bubbling down to 150 ml, then whisk in the remaining butter. Steep large prunes in dessert wine for a few hours, then reduce the liquid with a dollop of butter in a heavy based pan till caramel consistency. Add the vinegar, raise the heat to high, and cook one minute to reduce the liquid. When the sauce is reduced, pour over the oxtail and reheat gently. Next, take out the lobsters, keep them warm and reduce the cooking liquid. Add the wings back to the pan along with the chicken stock and tarragon and reduce the liquid by two thirds. Simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and aromatic. She reduced the cooking liquid in a saucepan and added more white wine and spices before serving. As soon as the sauce has reduced by half, swirl in the butter and a little finely chopped mint. 1.3North American no object (of a person) lose weight, typically by dieting. 〈主北美〉（尤指通过节食）减轻体重，减肥 by May she had reduced to 125 pounds 到五月份她的体重已减至九英石。 Example sentencesExamples Respondents were asked to name reasons why patients had not reduced, if they had not done so. Synonyms follow a diet, be on a diet, eat sparingly, eat selectively, abstain, fast 1.4Photography Make (a negative or print) less dense. 〔摄〕减薄（底片或图片） Example sentencesExamples I have noted that the print is reduced considerably during this washing process, but usually regains its full tonal range in the fix. 1.5Phonetics Articulate (a speech sound) in a way requiring less muscular effort. In vowels, this gives rise to a more central articulatory position. 〔语音〕弱化 2reduce someone/something toBring someone or something to (a lower or weaker state, condition, or role) 使（某人/事）降至（某种状态、境地或角色） she has been reduced to near poverty 她沦落到几乎一无所有。 the church was reduced to rubble 教堂成了一堆碎石。 Example sentencesExamples They, who had had careers and their own money, were reduced to baby-sitters and had to ask their husbands for money. The rivers that were raging torrents as I crossed them last December were reduced to babbling brooks. The family was distraught on Monday after a lifetime's possessions were reduced to ashes in just minutes. A large part of the Paradise Hotel was reduced to rubble and the rest was reduced to a smouldering shell. Both were reduced to pathetic caricatures of themselves by the height and steepness of the bunker face. Their houses, shops and factories were reduced to ashes. They'd be reduced to blubbering babies, begging for their lives. Some houses were reduced to neat rectangles of foot-high rubble. Survivors pulled belongings out of their destroyed homes, some of which were reduced to piles of dust. By Sunday morning more than 300,000 buildings had disappeared and two-thirds of the city were reduced to smouldering ashes. Synonyms bring to, bring to the point of, force into, drive into 2.1be reduced to doing something (of a person) be forced by difficult circumstances into doing something desperate. （人）被逼无奈，走投无路 ordinary soldiers are reduced to begging 普通士兵被迫行乞街头。 Example sentencesExamples The mounting pension crisis saw more and more elderly people reduced to selling their homes in order to survive. Even the Germans, who had taken a lot of goals off Rangers in the semi-final and were a top side, were reduced to chasing shadows by the end. She and her sister stayed in Moscow where they were reduced to burning books for warmth. Staff were ‘breaking down in tears of frustration’ as they were reduced to calculating cases on paper, MPs heard. Instead, the drug companies are reduced to producing slightly different versions of pre-existing products, which in the end is a zero-sum game. Yet the group failed to produce any biological agent, and were reduced to poking bags with umbrellas to disseminate the sarin gas they were able to make. After Owen's long-range gem, Patrik Berger struck from similar distance and Boro were reduced to chasing shadows from then on. 2.2 Make someone helpless with (an expression of emotion, especially with hurt, shock, or amusement) 使无法不表露某种神情（尤指受屈、受惊或感到有趣） Olga was reduced to stunned silence 奥尔加被吓得一言不发。 Example sentencesExamples Hardened Royal Marines were reduced to tears yesterday as the funeral of Yorkshire war hero Christopher Maddison was held with full military honours. Staff were reduced to tears when they surveyed the results at Redbridge Primary School. It was quite remarkable: all of a sudden, thinking Australians were reduced to shrieks of joys when a colourful rag was unfurled, (even an outdated and clearly colonial-era one at that). The audience of parents, grandparents, Godparents and families were reduced to helpless fits of giggles. It had a shattering effect on those present and men and women, who normally take the dangers of racing in their stride, were reduced to tears. Apparently when American theatre audiences heard the song they were reduced to tears. At special test screenings, seven out of ten viewers were reduced to tears by the poignant, but simple messages portrayed in the film. Proving to be an ice-breaker, most of the class were reduced to fits of laughter. Several other residents present have described the governors' behaviour as ‘obnoxious’, and some were reduced to tears. It was all too much for my uncle's sons who were reduced to pathetic sobs. But minutes later the same packed grandstands were reduced to tears after their ‘King’ had died in a most public way as he suffered a heart attack and collapsed, dying almost immediately. 2.3 Force someone into (obedience or submission) 使顺从；使屈服 he succeeds in reducing his grandees to due obedience 他成功地使他的大公们服服帖帖。 Synonyms bring to, bring to the point of, force into, drive into 3reduce something toChange a substance to (a different or more basic form) 使改变形式；使还原 it is difficult to understand how lava could have been reduced to dust 很难理解熔岩是如何变成灰的。 Example sentencesExamples Alkaline hydrolysis or tissue digestion works by breaking apart the chemical bonds that hold proteins together, reducing them to their basic components. Next, days-old worker bees beat their wings to ventilate the open honeycombs, in order to reduce the substance to a purer sugar. 3.1 Present a problem or subject in (a simplified form) 归纳，简化 he reduces unimaginable statistics to manageable proportions 他的工作是把不可思议的统计数据简化到可操作程度。 Example sentencesExamples His designs reduced a natural subject to its essentials. To simplify our description, we can reduce it to the following steps. It is easy to reduce arguments to simplistic ideas. He believes that he's forced to simplify and reduce facts to single statements. The complexities of the quality of social relationships would be reduced to such simplistic proxy variables. Most science involves taking a large subject and reducing it to ever smaller, more precise questions. This is when a politician reduces a complex situation to a simplistic argument for the sole purpose of political gain. This is not only unsupported by the text, it also takes the mystery out of the play, reducing it to a simplistic piece of psychological realism. He approaches the subject with thoroughness and a distinct effort to reduce its apparent complexity to simpler, actionable concepts. To reduce these experiences to simplistic dichotomies and folk concepts erases the complexity of embodied experiences and the cultural logic that underpins them. 3.2 Convert a fraction to (the form with the lowest terms). 将分数约到（最小项） Example sentencesExamples There is no need to reduce the proper fractions to their lowest forms - Euclid's algorithm will still give the correct CF. But Zu would know how to reduce fractions to their lowest terms by dividing top and bottom by the greatest common divisor. 4Chemistry Cause to combine chemically with hydrogen. 〔化〕使还原 4.1 Undergo or cause to undergo a reaction in which electrons are gained by one atom from another. （使）进行还原反应。OXIDIZE 的反义词 The opposite of oxidize Example sentencesExamples Likewise, when an atom is reduced, it gains an electron and becomes more negative. Reactions in which atoms of the same element are both oxidized and reduced are disproportionation reactions. During these reactions, the molecule that donates the electron is oxidized and the molecule that accepts the electron is reduced. 5Restore (a dislocated part) to its proper position by manipulation or surgery. 使（脱臼，断骨）复位 Example sentencesExamples The dislocation is reduced at the hospital in Taos, but there are so many broken bones that I'll need surgery. Kocher's manoeuvre was attempted to reduce the dislocation. The dislocation should be reduced as soon as possible. 6archaic Besiege and capture (a town or fortress). 〈古〉攻克，征服（尤指围攻并占领城镇或要塞） Example sentencesExamples A couple of weeks was spent reducing the last major fortress to the south of Antioch, then Raymond led the army southward on 13 January 1099. Further, he set aside the likelihood that siege guns and time would reduce the fortress. Fortresses were redesigned to take advantage of the defensive potential of modern firearms and techniques for besieging and reducing fortresses were refined. Phrases reduced circumstances Used euphemistically to refer to the state of being poor after being relatively wealthy. 委婉表达从富到穷生活窘迫 a divorcee living in reduced circumstances 生活拮据的离婚者。 Example sentencesExamples Don't get too depressed at your newly reduced circumstances. These were difficult years financially, and he never fully recovered from his reduced circumstances even after he moved back to New York in 1783. However, many of these women were living in reduced circumstances, and in order to increase their productivity they were forced to enlist the help of their own children, which kept them out of school. This told the story of a family struggling to survive in reduced circumstances after the father had been falsely imprisoned. Instead he continued to try and make the kind of films he wanted to make, in reduced circumstances. Despite his seemingly reduced circumstances, Reid was still able to spend almost 3000 on a round-trip ticket from Paris via Miami and Antigua. It is a fact of life that the death of a husband or wife results in reduced circumstances for the surviving partner. How have you coped with your new, reduced circumstances? She now lives, in very reduced circumstances, with her son. Having taken advantage of increased funding to become a full-time athlete, he now finds his reduced circumstances and changing priorities have affected his thinking. Synonyms impoverished, in straitened circumstances, ruined, bankrupt, bankrupted, bust, insolvent reduce someone to the ranks Demote a noncommissioned officer to an ordinary soldier. 把军士降为普通士兵 Synonyms demote, downgrade, lower, lower in rank, lower in status Origin Late Middle English: from Latin reducere, from re- ‘back, again’ + ducere ‘bring, lead’. The original sense was ‘bring back’ (hence ‘restore’, now surviving in reduce (sense 5)); this led to ‘bring to a different state’, then ‘bring to a simpler or lower state’ (hence reduce (sense 3)); and finally ‘diminish in size or amount’ ( reduce (sense 1), dating from the late 18th century). verb.1 phr.
随便看	precipitiousness precipitogen precipitous precipitously precipitously precipitousness precipitousness precipitousnesses precipitron precis precise precised precisely precisely preciseness preciseness precisenesses precises precisian precisianism precisianism precising precision precisional precision approach radar