ENGLISH
REFERENCE

pare down

idiom
Meaning

To reduce by paring or a similar gradual process.


Examples
SIMPLE

I need to pare down my expenses this month.

CONTEXTUAL

The editor asked the writer to pare down the long report to its most important facts.

COMPLEX

To improve the efficiency of the organization, the director decided to pare down the bloated bureaucracy by removing several unnecessary layers of management.

Anchors to

Last updated April 17, 2026