english
1
general::
verb ADV. considerably, dramatically, drastically, greatly, sharply, significantly, substantially | further | slightly We need to reduce the speed slightly. | gradually, progressively Legislation progressively reduced the number of situations in which industrial action could be taken. VERB + REDUCE aim to, attempt to, seek to, try to | help (to) Giving up smoking helps reduce the risk of heart disease. | manage to | be designed to, be intended to | be expected to, be likely to PREP. by Pollution from the works has been reduced by 70 per cent. | from, to The price is reduced from 99p to 85p. PHRASES an attempt/effort to reduce sth, measures to reduce sth, reduce sth to a minimum The risks must be reduced to the absolute minimum.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
2
general::
reduce sb to sth
1. to make someone unhappy or cause them to be in a bad state or situation
• His comments reduced her to tears (= made her cry).
• The sergeant was reduced to the ranks (= made an ordinary soldier) for his cowardice., reduce sth to sth
to cause something, especially a large structure, to be destroyed and broken into pieces
• Allied bombing reduced the city to ruins/rubble., reduce sb to sth
2. If you are reduced to doing something, you are forced to do it because you have no other choice
• I'd run out of cigarettes and was reduced to smoking the butts left in the ashtrays.
Cambridge-Phrasal Verbs
3
general::
reduce
adverbs
greatly/substantially/considerably reduce
• He has greatly reduced the political power of the armed forces.
significantly reduce
• Their symptoms were significantly reduced.
dramatically/drastically reduce
• They are committed to drastically reducing the size and cost of government.
sharply reduce
• Medical progress has sharply reduced death rates.
gradually reduce
• The aim is to gradually reduce the number of troops in the area.
transnet.ir
4
general::
to reduce prices, numbers, or amounts
reduce
to make the price, amount, or size of something less or smaller:
• The price was reduced by 50%. • We need to reduce the amount of salt in our diet.
cut
to reduce something, especially by a large amount – used about prices, costs, jobs, or the time needed to do something:
• Companies are always looking for ways to cut costs. • The journey time will be cut to under 2 hours. • Staff numbers have been cut by half to about 150.
lower
to reduce the level, limit, or amount of something. Lower sounds rather formal:
• The voting age was lowered to 18. • The government decided to lower interest rates by 0.5%. • After twenty minutes, lower the temperature to 150 degrees.
bring something down
to reduce something such as prices or costs, or reduce the level of something. Bring something down is less formal than lower:
• The government wants to bring down the level of inflation. • The company is trying to bring its costs down.
slash
informal to reduce an amount or price by a very large amount – used especially in newspapers and advertisements:
• Public spending has been slashed over the past two years. • Prices slashed for one week only!
cut something back
to reduce the amount of something – used especially about people deciding to spend less, do less, or use less of something:
• The education budget has been cut back again. • I need to cut back on my workload.
downsize
to reduce the number of people employed in order to reduce costs – used about a company or organization:
• The company is planning to downsize its European operations.
scale something down/back
to reduce the size or the amount of money that is being spent on something:
• The research programme has been scaled down. • The navy is being scaled down.
relieve/ease
to make pain or feelings less unpleasant:
• The drug is used to relieve pain. • A joke can help to ease the tension.
alleviate
formal to reduce pain or suffering, or make a problem less serious:
• You can buy various medicines to alleviate the symptoms of flu. • The new road was supposed to alleviate the congestion problem.
Longman-Thesaurus