Translate reduction | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish Definition of reduction
noun
1the action or fact of making a specified thing smaller or less in amount, degree, or size:talks on arms reduction there had been a reduction in the number of casualties the amount by which something is made smaller, less, or lower in price:special reductions on knitwear the simplification of a subject or problem to a particular form in presentation or analysis:the reduction of classical genetics to molecular biology Mathematics the process of converting an amount from one denomination to a smaller one, or of bringing down a fraction to its lowest terms. Biology the halving of the number of chromosomes per cell that occurs at one of the two anaphases of meiosis.
2a thing that is made smaller or less in size or amount, in particular. an arrangement of an orchestral score for piano or for a smaller group of performers. a thick and concentrated liquid or sauce made by boiling. a copy of a picture or photograph made on a smaller scale than the original.
3the action of remedying a dislocation or fracture by returning the affected part of the body to its normal position.
4 Chemistry the process or result of reducing or being reduced.
5 Phonetics substitution of a sound that requires less muscular effort to articulate:the process of vowel reduction
