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reduction

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

9 characters

Language

English

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "reduction", 9-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "reduction" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "reduction" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

reduction is aEnglishnoun. It means: The act, process, or result of reducing. Pronounced /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/. It ranks #3,716 in English word frequency. Often confused with rejection and resection.

Key facts for reduction
PropertyValue
Headwordreduction
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#3,716
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of reduction in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for reduction is 9 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,716 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 14 documented wrong-spelling variants for reduction, with forms such as "erduction", "rdeuction", and "redcution". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "rejection", "resection", "reductive", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English reduccion, a borrowing from Old French reducion, from Latin reductiō, reductiōnem. Equivalent to reduce + -tion. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is reduction, spelled R-E-D-U-C-T-I-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act, process, or result of reducing.
  2. 2
    The amount or rate by which something is reduced, e.g. in price.
  3. 3
    A reaction in which electrons are gained and valence is reduced; often by the removal of oxygen or the addition of hydrogen.
  4. 4
    The process of rapidly boiling a sauce to concentrate it.
  5. 5
    The rewriting of an expression into a simpler form.
  6. 6
    A transformation of one problem into another problem, such as mapping reduction or polynomial-time reduction.
  7. 7
    An arrangement for a far smaller number of parties, e.g. a keyboard solo based on a full opera.
  8. 8
    A philosophical procedure intended to reveal the objects of consciousness as pure phenomena. (See phenomenological reduction.)
  9. 9
    A medical procedure to restore a fracture or dislocation to the correct alignment, usually with a closed approach but sometimes with an open approach (surgery).
  10. 10
    A reduced price of something by a fraction or decimal.
  11. 11
    The ratio of a material's change in thickness compared to its thickness prior to forging and/or rolling.
  12. 12
    A religious settlement created during a mission by Spanish or Portuguese colonists with the intent of evangelizing Christianity to the local population.

Etymology

From Middle English reduccion, a borrowing from Old French reducion, from Latin reductiō, reductiōnem. Equivalent to reduce + -tion.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: erduction,rdeuction,redcution,redduction,reducction,reduciton,reducsion,reductino,reductionn,reductoin,reducttion,redutcion,reudction,rreduction

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for reduction

Misspelling Variants of "reduction"

erduction9rdeuction9redcution9redduction10reducction10reduciton9reducsion9reductino9
Misspelling Variants of "reduction"

Frequency rank: #3,716 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "reduction"?
"reduction" is spelled R-E-D-U-C-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/.
What does "reduction" mean?
As a noun, "reduction" means: The act, process, or result of reducing.
What words are commonly confused with "reduction"?
"reduction" is commonly confused with "rejection", "resection", "reductive". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "reduction"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "reduction" is /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "reduction"?
From Middle English reduccion, a borrowing from Old French reducion, from Latin reductiō, reductiōnem. Equivalent to reduce + -tion. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter R in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.