reduce

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to be forced into a worse or simpler situation.

v. to bring someone or something to a lower or more desperate state or condition. Often used in the passive voice.

“After the fire, the family was reduced to living in a small tent.”

“The once-mighty empire was reduced to a handful of small islands after the long and costly war.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Cooking

v. to boil a liquid so that some of it disappears and the rest becomes thicker.

v. to decrease the volume of a liquid by boiling, thereby concentrating its flavour and increasing its viscosity.

“You should reduce the sauce for ten minutes to make it more flavourful.”

“The chef instructed the apprentice to reduce the balsamic vinegar until it reached a syrupy consistency suitable for glazing the duck.”

C1 · Advanced Science Technical

v. to add electrons to a substance or remove oxygen from it.

v. to cause a substance to gain electrons or lose oxygen during a chemical reaction.

“In this reaction, the iron oxide is reduced to pure iron.”

“The process involves reducing the metal ore in a blast furnace to extract the pure element from its oxide form.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Mathematics Academic

v. to change a fraction or equation into a simpler form.

v. to simplify a mathematical expression or fraction by removing common factors without changing its value.

“The teacher asked the students to reduce the fraction to its simplest form.”

“Before solving for the variable, you must reduce the equation by dividing both sides by the common denominator.”

C2 · Proficiency Medicine Technical

v. to put a broken bone or a joint back into its correct place.

v. to restore a fracture or dislocation to its correct anatomical alignment through manual or surgical intervention.

“The doctor had to reduce the patient's dislocated shoulder in the emergency room.”

“The surgeon successfully reduced the compound fracture, ensuring the bone fragments were perfectly aligned before applying the internal fixation.”