The difference between Decrease and Reduce

When used as verbs, decrease means of a quantity, to become smaller, whereas reduce means to bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or intensity of something.

Decrease is also noun with the meaning: an amount by which a quantity is decreased.

check bellow for the other definitions of Decrease and Reduce

  1. Decrease as a verb (intransitive):

    Of a quantity, to become smaller.

  2. Decrease as a verb (transitive):

    To make (a quantity) smaller.

  1. Decrease as a noun:

    An amount by which a quantity is decreased.

    Examples:

    "One research team has recorded Baishui’s decrease at about 27 meters per year over the last 10 years.'' [[File:One research team has recorded Baishui’s decrease.ogg]]"

  2. Decrease as a noun (knitting):

    A reduction in the number of stitches, usually accomplished by suspending the stitch to be decreased from another existing stitch or by knitting it together with another stitch. See .

  1. Reduce as a verb (transitive):

    To bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or intensity of something; to diminish, to lower, to impair.

    Examples:

    "to reduce weight, speed, heat, expenses, price, personnel etc."

  2. Reduce as a verb (intransitive):

    To lose weight.

  3. Reduce as a verb (transitive):

    To bring to an inferior rank; to degrade, to demote.

    Examples:

    "to reduce a sergeant to the ranks"

  4. Reduce as a verb (transitive):

    To humble; to conquer; to subdue; to capture.

    Examples:

    "to reduce a province or a fort"

  5. Reduce as a verb (transitive):

    To bring to an inferior state or condition.

    Examples:

    "to reduce a city to ashes"

  6. Reduce as a verb (transitive, cooking):

    To decrease the liquid content of food by boiling much of its water off.

  7. Reduce as a verb (transitive, chemistry):

    To add electrons / hydrogen or to remove oxygen.

  8. Reduce as a verb (transitive, metallurgy):

    To produce metal from ore by removing nonmetallic elements in a smelter.

  9. Reduce as a verb (transitive, mathematics):

    To simplify an equation or formula without changing its value.

  10. Reduce as a verb (transitive, computer science):

    To express the solution of a problem in terms of another (known) algorithm.

  11. Reduce as a verb (transitive, logic):

    To convert a syllogism to a clearer or simpler form

  12. Reduce as a verb (transitive, legal):

    To convert to written form (Usage note: this verb almost always take the phrase "to writing").

    Examples:

    "It is important that all business contracts be reduced to writing."

  13. Reduce as a verb (transitive, medicine):

    To perform a reduction; to restore a fracture or dislocation to the correct alignment.

  14. Reduce as a verb (transitive, military):

    To reform a line or column from (a square).

  15. Reduce as a verb (transitive, obsolete):

    To translate (a book, document, etc.).

    Examples:

    "a book reduced into English"

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