Reduction

Reduction or reducing has several meanings:

In mathematics, reduction is the process of manipulating a series of equations or matrices into a desired 'simpler' format.

In computational complexity theory, reduction is the transformation of an instance of one problem into an equivalent instance of another.

In cooking, reduction is the process of thickening a liquid mixture such as a sauce by evaporation.

In chemistry, reduction is the reverse of oxidation, i.e. the formal oxidation state of an atom (independent or within a molecule) is reduced by the addition of electrons. A reduced gas is thus hydrogen-rich.

In philosophy, reduction is the process of explaining a particular phenomenon or subject matter in terms of more fundamental concepts, principles or elements.

In linguistics, reduction is the shortening of the pronunciation of a word. e.g. wanna, lemme, gimme.

In physiology, reduction or reducing is another name for weight loss or dieting.

In surgery, reduction is a medical procedure to restore a fracture to a correct alignment.

In economics and in waste management, reduction is the process of decreasing the purchase of consumer goods.
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See also: Reduction, Atom, Chemistry, Computational complexity theory, Cooking, Dieting, Economics, Electron, Equation