Reduce
 

reduce
verb1.cut down on; make a reduction in; "reduce your daily fat intake"; "The employer wants to cut back health benefits"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.simplify the form of a mathematical equation of expression by substituting one term for another5.lower in grade or rank or force somebody into an undignified situation; "She reduced her niece to a servant"6.be the essential element; "The proposal boils down to a compromise"7.reduce in size; reduce physically; "Hot water will shrink the sweater"; "Can you shrink this image?"[syn: shrink]8.lessen and make more modest; "reduce one's standard of living"9.make smaller; "reduce an image"[ant: blow up]10.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[syn: deoxidize][ant: oxidate]11.narrow or limit; "reduce the influx of foreigners"12.put down by force or intimidation; "The government quashes any attempt of an uprising"; "China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently"; "The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land"[syn: repress]13.undergo meiosis; "The cells reduce"14.reposition (a broken bone after surgery) back to its normal site15.destress and thus weaken a sound when pronouncing it16.reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened"[syn: abridge][ant: dilate]17.be cooked until very little liquid is left; "The sauce should reduce to one cup"[syn: boil down]18.cook until very little liquid is left; "The cook reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time"19.lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture; "cut bourbon"[syn: dilute]20.take off weight[ant: gain]