take off weight narrow or limit; "reduce the influx of foreigners" cook until very little liquid is left; "The cook reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time" be the essential element; "The proposal boils down to a compromise" make smaller; "reduce an image" make less complex; "reduce a problem to a single question" cut down on; make a reduction in; "reduce your daily fat intake"; "The employer wants to cut back health benefits" reposition (a broken bone after surgery) back to its normal site undergo meiosis; "The cells reduce" lower in grade or rank or force somebody into an undignified situation; "She reduced her niece to a servant" simplify the form of a mathematical equation of expression by substituting one term for another lessen and make more modest; "reduce one's standard of living" bring to humbler or weaker state or condition; "He reduced the population to slavery
If you reduce liquid when you are cooking, or if it reduces, it is boiled in order to make it less in quantity and thicker. Boil the liquid in a small saucepan to reduce it by half Simmer until mixture reduces