Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act or process of reducing.
  • noun The result of reducing.
  • noun The amount by which something is lessened or diminished.
  • noun A sauce that has been thickened or concentrated by boiling.
  • noun Biology The first meiotic division, in which the chromosome number is reduced.
  • noun A decrease in positive valence or an increase in negative valence by the gaining of electrons.
  • noun A reaction in which hydrogen is combined with a compound.
  • noun A reaction in which oxygen is removed from a compound.
  • noun The canceling of common factors in the numerator and denominator of a fraction.
  • noun The converting of a fraction to its decimal equivalent.
  • noun The converting of an expression or equation to its simplest form.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of reducing, or the state of being reduced.
  • noun Conversion into another state or form: as, the reduction of a body to powder; the reduction of things to order.
  • noun (c.) Diminution: as, the reduction of the expenses of government; the reduction of the national debt; a reduction of 25 per cent. made to wholesale buyers.
  • noun Conquest; subjugation: as, the reduction of a province under the power of a foreign nation; the reduction of a fortress.
  • noun A settlement or parish of South American Indians converted and trained by the Jesuits.
  • noun The bringing of a problem to depend on a problem already solved.
  • noun The transformation of an algebraic expression into another of a simpler kind.
  • noun The lowering of the values of the numerator and denominator of a fraction, or of the antecedent and consequent of a ratio, by dividing both by the same quantity.
  • noun The conversion of a quantity expressed in terms of one denomination so as to express it in terms of another denomination. Ascending reduction is conversion to terms of larger units; descending reduction, conversion to terms of smaller units.
  • noun The proof of the conclusion of an indirect syllogism from its premises by means of a direct syllogism and immediate inferences. This is said to be a reduction to the mode of direct syllogism employed.
  • noun A direct syllogism proving, by means of conversions and other immediate inferences, that the conclusion of an indirect syllogism follows from its premises.
  • noun The act or process of making a copy of a figure, map, design, draft, etc., on a smaller scale, preserving the original proportions; also, the result of this process.
  • noun In surg, the operation of restoring a dislocated or fractured bone to its former place.
  • noun Separation of a metal from substances combined with it: used especially with reference to lead, zinc, and copper, and also applied to the treatment of iron ore, as when steel is made from it by a direct process.
  • noun In astronomy, the correction of observed quantities for instrumental errors, as well as for refraction, parallax, aberration, precession, and nutation, so as to bring out their cosmical significance. A similar process is applied to observations in other physical sciences.
  • noun In Scots law, an action for setting aside a deed, writing, etc.
  • noun Synonyms Lessening decrease, abatement, curtailment, abridgment, contraction. retrenchment.
  • noun In linguistics, the shortening of a word by apocope.
  • noun In cytology, the halving of the number of somatic chromosomes during spermatogenesis and oögenesis.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of reducing, or state of being reduced; conversion to a given state or condition; diminution; conquest
  • noun (Arith. & Alg.) The act or process of reducing. See Reduce, v. t., 6. and To reduce an equation, To reduce an expression, under Reduce, v. t.
  • noun The correction of observations for known errors of instruments, etc.
  • noun The preparation of the facts and measurements of observations in order to deduce a general result.
  • noun The process of making a copy of something, as a figure, design, or draught, on a smaller scale, preserving the proper proportions.
  • noun (Logic) The bringing of a syllogism in one of the so-called imperfect modes into a mode in the first figure.
  • noun (Chem. & Metal.) The act, process, or result of reducing{7}.
  • noun (Med.) The operation of restoring a dislocated or fractured part to its former place.
  • noun (Arith.) the operation of changing numbers of a lower into others of a higher denomination, as cents to dollars.
  • noun (Arith.) the operation of changing numbers of a higher into others of a lower denomination, as dollars to cents.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The act, process, or result of reducing.
  • noun The amount or rate by which something is reduced, e.g. in price.
  • noun chemistry A reaction in which electrons are gained and valence is reduced; often by the removal of oxygen or the addition of hydrogen.
  • noun cooking The process of rapidly boiling a sauce to concentrate it.
  • noun mathematics The rewriting of an expression into a simpler form.
  • noun a transformation of one problem into another problem, such as mapping reduction or polynomial reduction.
  • noun music An arrangement for a far smaller number of parties, e.g. a keyboard solo based on a full opera.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English reduccion, restoration, from Old French reduction, from Latin reductiō, reductiōn-, from reductus, past participle of redūcere, to bring back; see reduce.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English reduccion, from Old French reducion, from Latin reductio.

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Examples

  • The term reduction is often used to refer to the relation between a theory and its historical successor.

    Reductionism in Biology Brigandt, Ingo 2008

  • You see, this reduction is all about reducing weight for the launch of the ISS-Trimmed Orion on Ares-I.

    Orion Slims Down - NASA Watch 2009

  • But the word "reduction" was dropped in the editing process.

    Corrections and clarifications 2011

  • Analysts believe that the reduction is already stimulating investment and helping to boost economic growth.

    Lloyd Mexico Economic Report December 2005 2006

  • Analysts believe that the reduction is already stimulating investment and helping to boost economic growth.

    Lloyd Mexico Economic Report December 2005 2006

  • "My assessment is that we will see a short term reduction in Chinese deals with Iran, but ultimately China will re-enter the market with gusto and take as much Iranian oil as it can, while it can, at rock bottom prices."

    Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph David Blair 2012

  • The keyway was a situation where those -- that company was bankrupt, but we did introduce some credentialization, if you will, in terms of strengthening the management, as well as the training of the organization, then left to a short term reduction in the number of sales people.

    unknown title 2011

  • With respect to what they call the reduction of the debt from its nominal sum, it is not a reduction of it, but an appreciation at its true value.

    The Writings of Thomas Jefferson Library Edition - Vol. 6 (of 20) Thomas Jefferson 1784

  • Whether or not it's an RPU opportunity for you, or whether you are viewing it basically the way you're viewing the current satellite offer and it's a term reduction opportunity.

    SeekingAlpha.com: Home Page 2009

  • Whether or not it's an RPU opportunity for you, or whether you are viewing it basically the way you're viewing the current satellite offer and it's a term reduction opportunity.

    Telecom Sector and Stocks Analysis from Seeking Alpha 2009

Comments

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  • One of those words that, when encountered on menus or in recipe descriptions, completely drains my appetite.

    December 7, 2008

  • see donut icer

    February 10, 2011