The most common meanings are : 1. to bring down to a smaller extent, size, amount, number, etc. e.g. : to reduce one's weight by 10 pounds. 2. to lower in degree, intensity, etc. e.g. : to reduce the speed of a car. ********************************************************************************************** Other meanings are : WHEN USED WITH AN OBJECT : 3. to bring down to a lower rank, dignity, etc.: a sergeant reduced to a corporal 4. to treat analytically, as a complex idea. 5. to lower in price. 6. to bring to a certain state, condition, arrangement, etc.: to reduce glass to powder. 7. to bring under control or authority. ********************************************************************************************** WHEN USED WITHOUT AN OBJECT 8. to become reduced. 9. to become lessened, especially in weight. 10. to be turned into or made to equal something: All our difficulties reduce to financial problems. ********************************************************************************************** USE IN VARIOUS SCIENCES : * Cookery : to evaporate water from (a sauce, soup, or other liquid), usually by boiling. * Photography : to lessen the density of (an exposed negative). * Astronomy : to adjust or correct by making allowances, as an astronomical observation. * Mathematics : to change the denomination or form, but not the value, of (a fraction, polynomial, etc.). * Chemistry : a. to add electrons to. b. to deoxidize. c. to add hydrogen to. d. to change (a compound) so that the valence of the positive element is lower. e. to thin or dilute: to reduce paint with oil or turpentine. f. to lower the alcoholic concentration of (spirits) by diluting with water. * Chemistry, Metallurgy : to bring into the metallic state by separating from nonmetallic constituents. * Surgery : to restore to the normal place, relation, or condition, as a fractured bone. * Phonetics : to modify the quality of (a speech sound) to one of lesser distinctiveness, especially to pronounce (an unstressed vowel) as (ə) or another centralized vowel, as in the unstressed syllables of medicinal. **********************************************************************************************

Also reduce means " make smaller" like " reduce the size of something"

Most common meaning for reduce is " to lower, decrease, and lessen- meaning to make or do less.

"reduce" has only one meaning = to make less It has a number of uses though. All its uses derive from its one meaning: "to make less", or "to lessen".

thats useful thanks