reduction

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The act or process of reducing.
2. n. The result of reducing: a reduction in absenteeism.
3. n. The amount by which something is lessened or diminished: a reduction of 12 percent in violent crime.
4. n. Biology The first meiotic division, in which the chromosome number is reduced. Also called reduction division.
5. n. Chemistry A decrease in positive valence or an increase in negative valence by the gaining of electrons.
6. n. Chemistry A reaction in which hydrogen is combined with a compound.
7. n. Chemistry A reaction in which oxygen is removed from a compound.
8. n. Mathematics The canceling of common factors in the numerator and denominator of a fraction.
9. n. Mathematics The converting of a fraction to its decimal equivalent.
10. n. Mathematics The converting of an expression or equation to its simplest form.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The act of reducing, or the state of being reduced. The act of bringing back or restoring.
2. n. Conversion into another state or form: as, the reduction of a body to powder; the reduction of things to order.
3. n. (c.) Diminution: as, the reduction of the expenses of government; the reduction of the national debt; a reduction of 25 per cent. made to wholesale buyers.
4. n. Conquest; subjugation: as, the reduction of a province under the power of a foreign nation; the reduction of a fortress.
5. n. A settlement or parish of South American Indians converted and trained by the Jesuits.
6. n. The bringing of a problem to depend on a problem already solved.
7. n. The transformation of an algebraic expression into another of a simpler kind.
8. n. The lowering of the values of the numerator and denominator of a fraction, or of the antecedent and consequent of a ratio, by dividing both by the same quantity.
9. n. The conversion of a quantity expressed in terms of one denomination so as to express it in terms of another denomination. Ascending reduction is conversion to terms of larger units; descending reduction, conversion to terms of smaller units.
10. n. The proof of the conclusion of an indirect syllogism from its premises by means of a direct syllogism and immediate inferences. This is said to be a reduction to the mode of direct syllogism employed.
11. n. A direct syllogism proving, by means of conversions and other immediate inferences, that the conclusion of an indirect syllogism follows from its premises.
12. n. The act or process of making a copy of a figure, map, design, draft, etc., on a smaller scale, preserving the original proportions; also, the result of this process.
13. n. In surg, the operation of restoring a dislocated or fractured bone to its former place.
14. n. Separation of a metal from substances combined with it: used especially with reference to lead, zinc, and copper, and also applied to the treatment of iron ore, as when steel is made from it by a direct process.
15. n. In astronomy, the correction of observed quantities for instrumental errors, as well as for refraction, parallax, aberration, precession, and nutation, so as to bring out their cosmical significance. A similar process is applied to observations in other physical sciences.
16. n. In Scots law, an action for setting aside a deed, writing, etc.
17. n. Synonyms Lessening decrease, abatement, curtailment, abridgment, contraction. retrenchment.
18. n. In linguistics, the shortening of a word by apocope.
19. n. In cytology, the halving of the number of somatic chromosomes during spermatogenesis and oögenesis.

Wiktionary

1. n. The act, process, or result of reducing.
2. n. The amount or rate by which something is reduced, e.g. in price.
3. n. chemistry A reaction in which electrons are gained and valence is reduced; often by the removal of oxygen or the addition of hydrogen.
4. n. cooking The process of rapidly boiling a sauce to concentrate it.
5. n. mathematics The rewriting of an expression into a simpler form.
6. n. a transformation of one problem into another problem, such as mapping reduction or polynomial reduction.
7. n. music An arrangement for a far smaller number of parties, e.g. a keyboard solo based on a full opera.
8. n. philosophy, phenomenology A philosophical procedure intended to reveal the objects of consciousness as pure phenomena. (See phenomenological reduction.)
9. n. medicine A medical procedure to restore a fracture or dislocation to the correct alignment.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The act of reducing, or state of being reduced; conversion to a given state or condition; diminution; conquest.
2. n. (Arith. & Alg.) The act or process of reducing. See Reduce, v. t., 6. and To reduce an equation, To reduce an expression, under Reduce, v. t.
3. n. The correction of observations for known errors of instruments, etc.
4. n. The preparation of the facts and measurements of observations in order to deduce a general result.
5. n. The process of making a copy of something, as a figure, design, or draught, on a smaller scale, preserving the proper proportions.
6. n. (Logic) The bringing of a syllogism in one of the so-called imperfect modes into a mode in the first figure.
7. n. (Chem. & Metal.) The act, process, or result of reducing{7}.
8. n. (Med.) The operation of restoring a dislocated or fractured part to its former place.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. any process in which electrons are added to an atom or ion (as by removing oxygen or adding hydrogen); always occurs accompanied by oxidation of the reducing agent
2. n. the act of decreasing or reducing something
3. n. the act of reducing complexity