reduce

réduire, diminuer

Rendre quelque chose plus petit ou diminuer sa quantité, sa force ou sa valeur.

En anglais simple : To make something smaller or lower in amount, strength, or value.

• We need to reduce costs.
• The shop reduced its prices yesterday.
• Can you reduce the amount of salt?

Comment l'utiliser : reduce something by an amount (We reduced our spending by twenty percent.); reduce something to an amount (They reduced the price to ten pounds.)

Synonymes : lower, decrease, cut, lessen

Contraires : increase, raise

Expressions courantes : reduce costs, reduce the risk, reduce something by half, reduce speed

faire réduire

Faire bouillir un liquide pour qu’une partie de l’eau s’évapore et qu’il devienne plus épais.

En anglais simple : To boil a liquid so some water disappears and the liquid becomes thicker.

• Reduce the sauce gently.
• She reduced the wine in a small pan.
• Let the liquid reduce until it becomes thick.

Comment l'utiliser : reduce something by half (Reduce the stock by half before adding cream.)

Synonymes : boil down

Expressions courantes : reduce the sauce, reduce by half, reduce over heat

réduire

Transformer une substance en lui ajoutant des électrons ou de l’hydrogène, ou en lui retirant de l’oxygène.

En anglais simple : To change a substance by adding electrons or hydrogen, or taking away oxygen.

• Hydrogen can reduce this oxide.
• The compound was reduced in the laboratory.
• They used carbon to reduce the iron oxide.

Comment l'utiliser : reduce something to something (Carbon can reduce the oxide to metal.)

Contraires : oxidize

Expressions courantes : reduce an oxide, reduce with hydrogen, reduce to metal