Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Reduce
Re-duce′
(rē̍-dūs′)
, Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Reduced
(-dūst′)
,; p. pr. & vb. n.
Reducing
(-dū′sĭng)
.] 1.
To bring or lead back to any former place or condition.
[Obs.]
And to his brother’s house
reduced
his wife. Chapman.
The sheep must of necessity be scattered, unless the great Shephered of souls oppose, or some of his delegates
reduce
and direct us. Evelyn.
2.
To bring to any inferior state, with respect to rank, size, quantity, quality, value, etc.; to diminish; to lower; to degrade; to impair;
“An ancient but reduced family.” as, to
. reduce
a sergeant to the ranks; to reduce
a drawing; to reduce
expenses; to reduce
the intensity of heatSir W. Scott.
Nothing so excellent but a man may fasten upon something belonging to it, to
reduce
it. Tillotson.
Having
Their foe to misery beneath their fears.
reduced
Their foe to misery beneath their fears.
Milton.
Hester Prynne was shocked at the condition to which she found the clergyman
reduced
. Hawthorne.
3.
To bring to terms; to humble; to conquer; to subdue; to capture;
as, to
. reduce
a province or a fort4.
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.It were but right
And equal to
And equal to
reduce
me to my dust. Milton.
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.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.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 herniaReduced 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.
Syn. – To diminish; lessen; decrease; abate; shorten; curtail; impair; lower; subject; subdue; subjugate; conquer.
Webster 1828 Edition
Reduce
REDU'CE
,Verb.
T.
1.
Literally, to bring back; as, to reduce these bloody days again.[In this sense, not in use.]
2.
To bring to a former state.It were but just and equal to reduce me to my dust.
3.
To bring to any state or condition, good or bad; as, to reduce civil or ecclesiastical affairs to order; to reduce a man to poverty; to reduce a state to distress; to reduce a substance to powder; to reduce a sum to fractions; to reduce on to despair.4.
To diminish in length, breadth, thickness, size, quantity or value; as, to reduce expenses; to reduce the quantity of any thing; to reduce the intensity of heat; to reduce the brightness of color light; to reduce a sum or amount; to reduce the price of goods.5.
To lower; to degrade; to impair in dignity or excellence.Nothing so excellent but a man may fasten on something belonging to it, to reduce it.
6.
To subdue; to bring into subjection. The Romans reduced Spain, Gaul and Britain by their arms.7.
To reclaim to order.8.
To bring, as into a class, order, genus or species; to bring under rules or within certain limits of description; as, to reduce animals or vegetables to a class or classes; to reduce men to tribes; to reduce language to rules.9.
In arithmetic, to change numbers from one denomination into another without altering their value; or to change numbers of one denomination into others of the same value; as, to reduce a dollar to a hundred cents, or a hundred cents to a dollar.10.
In algebra, to reduce equations, is to clear them of all superfluous quantities, bring them to their lowest terms, and separate the known from the unknown, till at length the unknown quantity only is found on one side and the known ones on the other.11.
In metallurgy, to bring back metallic substances which have been divested of their form, into their original state of metals.12.
In surgery, to restore to its proper place or state a dislocated or fractured bone.To reduce a figure, design or draught, to make a copy of it larger or smaller than the original, but preserving the form and proportion.