reduce

cut down on; make a reduction in

• “reduce your daily fat intake”
• “The employer wants to cut back health benefits”

make less complex

• “reduce a problem to a single question”

bring to humbler or weaker state or condition

• “He reduced the population to slavery”

simplify the form of a mathematical equation of expression by substituting one term for another

lower in grade or rank or force somebody into an undignified situation

• “She reduced her niece to a servant”

be the essential element

• “The proposal boils down to a compromise”

reduce in size; reduce physically

• “Hot water will shrink the sweater”
• “Can you shrink this image?”

lessen and make more modest

• “reduce one”

make smaller

• “reduce an image”

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

narrow or limit

• “reduce the influx of foreigners”

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”

undergo meiosis

• “The cells reduce”

reposition (a broken bone after surgery) back to its normal site

reduce in scope while retaining essential elements

• “The manuscript must be shortened”

be cooked until very little liquid is left

• “The sauce should reduce to one cup”

cook until very little liquid is left

• “The cook reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time”

lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture

• “cut bourbon”

take off weight