Pronunciation

How to pronounce “reduce

“reduce” is pronounced /ɹəˈdus/ (ruh-DOOS) in American English and /ɹɪdjuːs/ in British English, and /ɹɪˈdus/ and /ɹiˈdus/ are also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “dus”.
The sound

Say “reduce” in 2 beats

Say it like this

reduce

/ɹəˈdus/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɹɪdjuːs/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

2 beats
  1. ɹəɹə
  2. dusdusstress
IPA (American)
/ɹəˈdus/
IPA (British)
/ɹɪdjuːs/
Also accepted
/ɹɪˈdus/
Also accepted
/ɹiˈdus/
Respelling
ruh-DOOS
Syllables
2 — ɹə-DUS
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ɹə-DUS. “dus” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɹəˈdus/

British

/ɹɪdjuːs/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “reduce” means

  1. verb

    cut down on; make a reduction in

    reduce your daily fat intake

  2. verb

    make less complex

    reduce a problem to a single question

  3. verb

    bring to humbler or weaker state or condition

    He reduced the population to slavery

Say it in a sentence

We had to reduce the print run by about a third.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

reduce”, answered

How do you pronounce “reduce”?

“reduce” is pronounced /ɹəˈdus/ (ruh-DOOS) in American English and /ɹɪdjuːs/ in British English, and /ɹɪˈdus/ and /ɹiˈdus/ are also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “dus”. Build it as ɹə-DUS, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “reduce” have?

2: ɹə · dus. The beat lands on the second, “dus”.

Is “reduce” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɹəˈdus/ (ruh-DOOS); British English says /ɹɪdjuːs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “reduce” mean?

As a verb: cut down on; make a reduction in For example: “reduce your daily fat intake” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “reduce”?

Stress the second syllable: ɹə-DUS. “dus” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “reduce” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.